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COBRA KAI Lives On, Hitting Netflix In 2020

Lee B. Golden III

At some point in the past few years despite the prospects, cancellations of several shows and its move away from scripted content made it apparent that YouTube wouldn’t be able to stand on its legs with its line-up of high-end programs. The company did maintain that they were going to keep making original content, and time will tell just what that means going forward, but at least one prospective series still has a chance: Cobra Kai. The now two-season series, a spritely spin-off of the classic Karate Kid franchise that swaps the perspective storytelling angle returning actors William Zabka, Ralph Macchio and Martin Kove in their respective roles of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and John Kreese, is heading to the streamer later this year. They are joined by a recurring cast led by Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Nichole Brown, Peyton List, Gianni Decenzo and Courtney Henggler. […]

ENGLISH DOGS IN BANGKOK Trailer: Ron Smoorenburg And Byron Gibson Lay Waste To Baddies In Thailand

Lee B. Golden III

Action cinema junkies will have plenty of time before Green Apple Entertainment unleashes Taffy Edwards’s new gangster flick, English Dogs In Bangkok (or English Dogs according to the official U.S. trailer above), this August. An exact date remains pending for the film which has Ron Smoorenburg commanding things on the action front next to Mark Stas, and featuring Byron Gibson front and center to lead the tale. In the streets of Thailand, a trail of destruction and mayhem ensues when a notorious soldier (Byron Gibson) and criminal kickboxer (Ron Smoorenburg) join forces to become the biggest illegal steroid supplier in Asia. Also starring are Eoin O’Brien, David Blazejko, Damian Mavis, David Gadsby and Dean Alexandrou.

RED STONE: Neal McDonough Leads New Texas Indie Thriller Now Filming

Lee B. Golden III

Production is reportedly underway in Texas for Derek Presley’s latest independent thriller, Red Stone. Leading the pic is actor Neal McDonough (Yellowstone, Altered Carbon, Sonic The Hedgehog) who is also exec producing the new film next to Alex Blackmon. With one bullet, Motley’s life spirals out of control as he’s forced to go on the run from the ruthless southern crime lord, Jed Haywood. Tracking Motley is Boon, Haywood’s best henchman and close friend. Boon’s brother has recently passed away in a horrific car accident and today is the funeral. He has ten hours to bring Motley in and get to the cemetery. Over the course of one day, both Motley and Boon go on a spiritual journey as their fate brings them together for a climatic showdown. Also starring are Dash Melrose (Little Fires Everywhere), Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), Dominic Scott Kay (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s […]

THE BEACH HOUSE Terrifies This July On AMC’s Shudder

Lee B. Golden III

Jeffrey A. Brown’s The Beach House, has seen many a warm welcome from audiences at Brooklyn, Chattooga, Sitges, and the Strasborg European Fantastic Film Fest. The director’s own freshman festival rouser is now poised to premiere on AMC’s Shudder throughout North America, the UK & Ireland on July 9 The feature directorial debut for Brown, THE BEACH HOUSE is an indie apocalyptic sci-fi thriller that presents an alluring mix of scorching seaside imagery, claustrophobic isolation, mysterious contagion and gruesome body horror, with a breakout lead performance from Liberato. A hit on the festival circuit, and coming soon to streaming! “An atmospheric triumph from newcomer director Jeffrey A. Brown… A slick tale of invasion and destruction that’s both intimate and cosmically grand. The Beach House is both a loving throwback to monster pictures from yesteryear, but at the same time, it helps the genre evolve to new places.” – Daniel Kurland, […]

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WARRIOR NUN: Evil Doesn’t Have A Prayer In The Official Series Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

I suppose it was no coincidence that the What’s On Netflix guys recently managed to take the time out to remind subscribers of the new fantasy action series, Warrior Nun. IGN has an official trailer running as of Wednesday signaling the first signs of life from the manga adaptation, as it’s been central to the endeavors of quite a few film industry people over the last seven years. This incarnation, hailing from creator, showrunner and exec producer Simon Barry, joins him with execs Jet Wilkinson and Stephen Hegyes for the show’s official ten-episode launch on July 2. The show stars Alba Baptista, Tristán Ulloa, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Lorena Andrea, Toya Turner and Thekla Reuten among the roster. Inspired by the Manga novels, Warrior Nun revolves around a 19 year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She […]

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HAPPY FAMILY: New Martial Arts Comedy Now In The Works From The Team Behind ‘My Asian Auntie’ And ‘Yes, Auntie!’ [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Filmmaking duo Joey Min and Stephanie Pham are currently in development with Happy Family, a new feature martial arts comedy next in line from their Art School Dropouts independent film banner. Plot details are currently under wraps, though the film is being billed as “a martial arts action comedy film for the family”, with “a twist on the modern hero origin story, while adding cultural elements, comedy and old-school Hong Kong style action scenes”. Min, founder and senior director of Art School Dropouts, will also join Pham on the acting side. Both are especially fluent in martial arts as they are in their film craft; Min is experienced in Shaolin Kung Fu, and Pham is a champion Taekwondo medalist who has twice repped the U.S. on the competitive circuit. Further casting details are pending as the company aims for a now early 2021 shoot, after scaling back from a late […]

SPINDRIFT’S HAUNTED WEST Teases Psychedelic Gunslinger Western Music And Mania In The Official Trailer

Christina Ortega

I normally don’t do westerns, but this upcoming release from Indican Pictures has caught my attention because it’s more than just a western. Throw in a road trip, haunted locations, and a band, and how can I not be intrigued? Spindrift’s Haunted West is a psychedelic country western band and while they travelled around the American West for five weeks, they only performed in ghost towns and haunted locations including California, the Valley of Fire, and Wyoming. Check out the official trailer for Spindrift’s Haunted West here: It is directed by Burke Roberts who also stars in the film; the other writers (Henry Evans, Burke Roberts, Kirkpatrick Thomas, and Sasha Valley) also star along with James Acton in what the official synopsis refers to as “A whiskey-soaked psychedelic spaghetti western visual tour-de-force that brings viewers a unique, peyote inspired look behind the curtain of madness and into the Haunted West […]

REPLAY: Olivia Munn To Star In Close Quarters Action Sci-Fi In Vein Of ‘John Wick’ And ‘The Raid’

Lee B. Golden III

Former Attack Of The Show host Olivia Munn has risen to the occasion with a film and television resumè host to some notable acting credits in over a decade. This week, the Ride Along 2, X-Men: Apocalypse and The Predator actress is diving into a more primal action role in Replay with a press release now out as international sales agent, The Exchange, revs up its slate for the virtual Cannes market from June 22 through 26. Deftly merging the frenetic, close-quarters action of JOHN WICK and THE RAID with the clever sci-fi storytelling of THE TERMINATOR, REPLAY is the story of Erin Staffer (Munn), whose husband is kidnapped and murdered. Now, armed only with illegal, bleeding edge tech and a desperate plan, Erin must do everything in her power to change the past and save him. Replay is now in pre-production, and hails from The Exchange and Dark Castle […]

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Shinsuke Sato Inherits A KINGDOM Sequel!

Lee B. Golden III

Buried in all the terrible goings-on of news in the world in the last few weeks, at least one gem came to pass and just recently made my way with word that a sequel has been greenlit to follow-up Bleach helmer Shinsuke Sato’s hit manga adaptation, Kingdom. The official website presented an illustration from Kingdom creator, mangaka Yasuhisa Hara, to signal the sequel, formalizing the return of actors Kento Yamazaki and Ryō Yoshizawa, and actress Kanna Hashimoto to reprise their roles. Indeed, Sato himself, whose work I’ve enjoyed since The Princess Blade with Yumiko Shaku years ago, will return to the helm. Sequel details are pending, although those who are more apt to the franchise may have an idea for what may come after Sato’s intricate and sweeping Warring States Period story, about a young war orphan destined to become a hero following the death of his best friend. Designed […]

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WIRA: Adrian Teh-Directed Martial Arts Actioner Streams Globally On Netflix June 15

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a welcoming thing that Netflix has become such a beacon for elevated genre cinema in some aspects. The streamer’s accomodation of such hits freshly out of Indonesia, The Phillipines such as The Raid, Merantau and The Night Comes For Us, Erik Matti’s BuyBust and Pedring Lopez’s Maria, are just several examples aimed at pulling in fans of action who are in the market for productions out of Asia. To add, an announcement from Netflix on Wednesday for Adrian Teh’s latest thriller, Wira, which now marks the Malaysian filmmaker’s second title to land on the streamer since military actioner, Paskal, late last year. The streamer will release Wira globally on Netflix starting Monday, June 15. Actor Hairul Azreen rejoins Paskal vets Teh, and actor Henley Hii, along with international sensation Yayan Ruhian, and actor Dain Iskandar Said. Azreen plays an ex-soldier home from service and on a mission to rescue […]

BECKY Review: An angry, nasty bit of violent cinema that is as exhilarating as it is frustrating.

If you’ve been on any movie sites of late, you may have heard whispers about “that movie where Kevin James plays a Nazi” or “Paul Blart plays a scary white supremacist fighting a teenage girl in the woods”. There’s high concept, and then there’s casting an actor to play so hard against type that it forces you to look at them in a different light; that’s this movie. Becky is an angry, nasty bit of violent cinema that is as exhilarating as it is frustrating. Lulu Wilson (Annabelle: Creation) plays Becky, a troubled girl trying to navigate the already volatile world of adolescence while mourning the death of her mother. Her father, played by Joel McHale (Community), is taking her out to the family cabin to get away from it all but he has an ulterior motive; he intends to break the news that she’ll soon have a new stepmom […]

40 YEARS OF ROCKY: THE BIRTH OF A CLASSIC Arrives On Digital And Video On Demand

Lee B. Golden III

This December will mark the 44th nationwide anniversary of Rocky, one of several American film staples to come from the auspices of actor Sylvester Stallone in the proliferation of his household name status since. The inaugural franchise hit is now the subject of 40 Years Of Rocky: The Birth Of A Classic, written and directed by Derek Wayne Johnson and is now available on Amazon and iTunes/Apple TV+ from Virgil Films. Its international release as Becoming Rocky: The Birth Of A Classic, arrives via Branded Studios. In 1976, a low budget movie written by an unknown actor was released, inspiring audiences around the world to go the distance. ‘Rocky’ became the ultimate underdog film. Over forty years later, Sylvester Stallone recounts the making of the beloved classic through rare home movies provided by Director John G. Avildsen and Production Manager Lloyd Kaufman. The North American version is also available on […]

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FANTASIA XXIV: Neil Marshall’s THE RECKONING, Shinichiro Ueda’s SPECIAL ACTORS, Natasha Kermani’s LUCKY And More Lead The First Wave

Lee B. Golden III

This year’s 24th installment of the Fantasia International Film Festival is setting up a virtual presentation this August following announcements just a few months ago. Shinichiro Ueda’s Special Actors is certainly looking to make a mark on the festival scene this summer along with noted horror director Neil Marshall’s The Reckoning, as well as Tezuka’s Barbara which I’ve seen Ard Vijn tout quite a bit at Screen Anarchy, and even Natasha Kermani’s Lucky sounds like it’ll be a thrill. I’m looking forward to covering some of these this August when the festival kicks off, but this is just the first wave. A second wave of titles may further guarantee my involvement when it hits in July before the full line-up goes public in August. Read on! FANTASIA’S UPCOMING VIRTUAL EDITION ANNOUNCES FIRST WILD WAVE OF PROGRAMMING, WITH NEIL MARSHALL’S THE RECKONING TO OPEN FESTIVAL Nobuhiko Obayashi’s LABYRINTH OF CINEMA, Brea […]

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[UPDATED] TOMIRIS: Well Go USA Takes Kazakh Hit Warrior Queen Epic

Lee B. Golden III

The official trailer I caught in January for Akan Satayev’s Herodotean action adventure, Tomiris, was such a find that I hated not catching it sooner. The film eventually opened in October (not September as previously noted) and at some point, Gary Hamilton’s Arclight Films snagged gloabl sales rights, and the word now from Screen Daily‘s Jeremy Kay is that film get treated to a U.S. release on September 29, courtesy of Well Go USA. Starring Kazakhstan standouts Almira Tursyn (as Tomiris), Adil Akhmetov (as Argun), and Aizhan Lighg (as Sardana)––who perform all of their own action-packed stunts––THE LEGEND OF TOMIRIS tells the real life story of the great queen who, along with her female warriors, united divided nomadic tribes to create a powerful nation capable of repelling the likes of Persia. According to historical accounts, Tomiris and her army very likely served as the downfall of Cyrus the Great, who […]

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COSMOBALL: Well Go USA Picks Up Russian Sci-Fi Action Sports Thriller For January 2021

Lee B. Golden III

Director Dzhanik Fayziev has been a listed favorite at Planos, Texas niche staple Well Go USA for some years now. He first landed distributorship in the U.S. with co-director Ivan Shurhoveckiy for period sword-and-shield thriller, Furious (a.k.a. The Legend Of Kolvorat), and now the company is making its succession this year with Fayziev’s recent sci-fi successor, Cosmoball (f.k.a. Goalkeeper Of The Galaxy). 2071. Galactic wars have destroyed the Moon and changed the climate on the Earth. Now tropical forests are covering Moscow, while New York is iced all over. A huge alien ship towers over Moscow – it is the stadium where spectacular intergalactic Spaceball competitions take place. The game combines both sport and gladiator fights. When the game is on, the whole world stops in its tracks to watch it. The players are called Athletes, only they are allowed to contest because of their powers and ability to control […]

AV: THE HUNT: Catch The Trailer For Emre Akay’s Feminist Survival Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

This year’s twentieth Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival is ramping things up in the next few weeks to head off a week-long virtual festival beginning July 3. The festival recently rolled out its eight first titles, one of which includes Turkish filmmaker Emre Akay’s third feature endeavor, AV: The Hunt. Six years in the making, project was originally campaigned on Indiegogo away from the state-funded film circuit, and billed as “a hard-boiled, fast-paced thriller set in patriarchal Turkey”. The film stars actress Billur Melis Koç, and actors Ahmet Rıfat Şungar and Yağızcan Konyalı, from a script by Akay and co-scribe Deniz Cuylan, and is produced by Tolga Topçu of JaguarProjects, Diloy Gûlün of Karma Films. REVENGE meets MIDNIGHT EXPRESS in this survival tale of an adulterous woman is hunted by her own relatives to wash the family honor.A young couple makes love when a cop barges in. Young and athletic […]

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Paramount’s KILL THEM ALL Circles ‘Star Wars’ Alumni Victoria Mahoney To Direct

Lee B. Golden III

Following updates in February, THR reported exclusively recently that Victoria Mahoney is up for the director’s chair on Oni Press graphic novel adaptation, Kill Them All. Billed as “a love letter to 1990s action movies”, Kyle Starks penned the original Kickstarter-backed IP, which served as the basis for a script by James Coyne for Paramount Pictures. Here’s how Oni Press details it: A betrayed murderess wants revenge. A hard drinking former cop wants his job back. For either to get what they want, they’re going to have to fight their way through fifteen flights of criminals, assassins, drug lords, murderers, yup, even accountants, and… KILL. THEM. ALL. Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are producing the film. Mahoney’s credits include directing episodes of Power and American Crime, and her 2012 project, Yelling At The Sky, and she is best known as the trailblazing […]

AMERICAN FIGHTER Conquers In The U.K. This Summer From Signature

Lee B. Golden III

Shaun Paul Piccinino’s American Fighter stood tall at Fantasia last summer, if my own thoughts on the film are of any hint. It’s the film that follows up from Alex Ranarivelo’s 2016 based-on-a-true-story induction, American Wrestler: The Wizard, with actor George Kosturos reprising his character now for a more fictional telling, and served with a few doses of kicks, throws and body blows to boot. This now brings us to the official trailer, now streaming for its digital UK release from Signature Entertainment on July 20, and comes with its own buzz pitch that reads “American Fighter boasts many gritty and excellently choreographed fight scenes reminiscent of action cult classics Rocky, Lionheart or The Karate Kid.” It’s not wrong, really. Again, I enjoyed it and you’re welcome to click here and read my interview with Piccinino to learn more on his adventure. A desperate teenager is forced into the dangerous […]

Horror Thriller TRACED To Star Sunny Pang For Fall Start; BLOOD RUSH Shoot Moves To Spring 2021 [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Filmmaker Ranjeet S. Marwa is turning his focus over to Traced, a new horror thriller which has already locked Sunny Pang to star. The film is aimed as “a crime thriller with elements of extreme violence” along with a tone and vision akin to the works of directors like Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin), Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer), Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) and Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) to name a few. Traced follows King (Pang), a troubled man with a violent past, hired by a multimillionaire to rescue his daughter, Hannah, from being exploited for her rare blood type, by a criminal gang known as Blood Thieves. As King battles his own inner-turmoil, his mission unravels an even larger conspiracy, and so King will do whatever it takes to find and save Hannah – no rules, no exceptions, no remorse. Marwa is producing via his Rocket Sky […]

PANOPTICON: ‘Narcos’ Series Director To Helm Prison Thriller, Ridley Scott To Exec Produce

PANOPTICON: ‘Narcos’ Series Director To Helm Prison Thriller, Ridley Scott To Exec Produce

Lee B. Golden III

There was once a project titled The Panopticon back in 2014 for which Keanu Reeves was being primed to star for director Tarsem Singh. This week’s update, in particular looks completely seperate from the aforementioned project announced seven years ago despite the title. As Brian Welk notes at The Wrap, Panopticon is a new prison thriller that will be directed by Andrés Baiz (Netflix series Narcos), from a Black List script by Emily Jerome. The main headliner in the report is Ridley Scott‘s attachment to the project as exec producer ahead of its Fall shoot. Casting is already underway for the female-led thriller which will center on Chase, a rising hedgefund manager who initiates a plot to secure a big coffer from a little known private correctional facility in Arizona that reaps big profits, and the inmates are running the show. Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios is financing and co-producing the […]