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[UPDATED] KINGDOM: ‘Bleach’, ‘Inuyashiki’ Director’s Latest Arrives In North America August 16

Three years since actor Kento Yamazaki took the spotlight for a ceremonial three-minute short celebrating the hit manga franchise, Kingdom, the JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure star is finally poised for a North American event screening on August 16. Niche distro banner Funimation Films acquired North American theatrical rights a few months ago to the Shinsuke Sato-directed action adventure epic which stars Yamazaki with actor Ryo Yoshizawa, and garnered upward of ¥5 billion after releasing in Japan back in April. Orphaned by war, a young boy and his friend dream of changing their fate and becoming the world’s greatest generals. And after his friend sacrifices himself to protect the future emperor, the young boy’s path to greatness is set in motion. Helping the King reclaim the throne puts the boy’s blade to the ultimate test as they go against deadly assassins, large armies, and the dangerous mountain clan. In a country torn […]

IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS Trailer: Serge Ou’s New Martial Arts Cinema Doc To Screen For The 67th MIFF

Lee B. Golden III

The 67th Melbourne International Film Festival kicks off on August 1 with a versatile line-up of titles, several of which are making the rounds in other fests as we speak. This no less extends to prolific documentary filmmaker and producer Serge Ou who sits at the helm for the world premiere of Iron Fists And Kung Fu Kicks, thanks in key part to the festival’s MIFF Premiere Fund. From Hong Kong to Hollywood, the Shaw Brothers to The Matrix, iron fists and kung fu kicks have been busting box offices and breaking barriers since the 1960s. This is the wild story of how the way of the dragon became a global phenomenon. Veronica Fury (Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, MIFF Premiere Fund 2014) serves as producer with XYZ Films’ Nate Bolotin and Todd Brown exec producing. Host to classic clips of kung fu cinema yesteryear with […]

LADY 2: Watch Stephanie Pham Mutilate A Room Full Of Sex Traffickers In The Relentless New ASDO Action Short (NSFW)

Lee B. Golden III

March 2018 saw a brief change of pace for director Joey Min with Lady, a three-minute experiment with a more “gritty and serious” direction apart from his usual kung fu comedy formula. Lady was a hit with fans and followers on YouTube, coalescing with the following success of Min’s highly-celebrated My Asian Auntie sequel, Yes, Auntie!, and so Min and actress/martial artist Stephanie Pham are back and in brutal and bloody fashion with Lady 2. The action is the total package here with Pham front and center, and in the kind of principal role you’ve NEVER seen before. It’s a first for Art School Dropouts and it’s anbeye-popping, mind-blowingly violent and fun turn for the ASDO crew this go-around. Moreover, I especially love Pham’s sign-off here and the depth it adds to the character. …It also sucks that this project is only eight minutes. Imagine what Min and Pham could […]

FANTASIA XXIII: Here Are Twenty Titles You’re Not Gonna Want To Miss!

Lee B. Golden III

Believe it or not, the twenty-third installment of Fantasia Festival is only a week away, and the next seven days will be a blur if you’re not caught onto the festival updates or haven’t bought your tickets yet. We covered the first wave and the full-line up and the selections here are especially full of promise, including no-brainers like The Crow, the newly restored 4K presentation of Ted Kotcheff’s watershed action movie hit, Rambo: First Blood, and the late Ringo Lam’s hit 1992 Hong Kong thriller, Full Contact. There’s lots to choose from at the official website, but we’re spotlighting up to twenty titles to help you get started. At the very least, you won’t be disappointed! Hit up the gallery and tap each image to enlarge with details in the black below.

STAIRS: Watch The Official Trailer For Tom Paton’s New Undead Action Horror Debuting At FrightFest In August

Lee B. Golden III

Black Site helmer Tom Paton is officially August-bound with this year’s 20th Arrow FrightFest London setting the stage for the UK premiere of his new war-ripped action horror, Stairs. The official website for the annual festival is up and running as is Paton’s own unveiling of a hearty, official red-band trailer and poster. A group of mercenaries are sent into Eastern Europe in the middle of a civil war to retrieve intel, but shortly after the mission the unit finds themselves trapped on a never-ending stairwell; forced to climb or die. To survive, they must revisit their past sins if they ever want to get off. The film blurs the lines of action and horror, creating a visually unique movie that deals with time travel, the repercussions of violence and consequence. Rife with practical effects, bone-crunching fight sequences and existential dread; its underpinned by a villain with a real purpose. […]

ESCAPE: ‘The Battleship Island’ Director Plots 90s-Set Somalian Civil War Survival Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Celebrated director Ryoo Seung-Wan (Arahan, The City Of Violence) will make way for Morocco later this year to shoot action film, working titled Escape. Actors Kim Yun-Seok (The Priests) and Zo In-Sung (The Great Battle) are in talks to star in the 1990s-set thriller which centers on a daring attempt by North and South Korean embassy workers to flee the Somalian Civil War conflict. Actor Huh Joon-Ho (Default, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) has already officially joined the cast according to Pierce Conran’s coverage over at KOFIC. Filmmaker R & K, Ryoo’s shared production outfit with Kang Hae-Jung and home to hits like The Unjust, Veteran and The Battleship Island, will produce the new action thriller along with Dexter Studios (Along With The Gods franchise). Ryoo’s resumé, much like that of filmmakers Kim Jee-Woon, Park Jung-Woo and Bong Joon-Ho as of late, is proven collective body of work that’s become signature […]

STEEL RAIN 2: Jung Woo-Sung Eyes Return For Espionage Action Thriller Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

The Attorney helmer Yang Woo-Suk’s own 2017 webtoon adaptation, Steel Rain, was a delighful out-of-nowhere surprise when it hit Netflix. It was odd that I didn’t see much press on it or that much of it didn’t come my way – not sure – but I love a good South Korean action thriller, especially if Jung Woo-Sung is in it. Joining Jung with actor Kwak Do-Won, Steel Rain sees a North Korean soldier forced to pair up with a South Korean diplomat when a coup in the North ensues a nefarious doomsday plot. As of this week, it appears a sequel, tentatively titled Steel Rain 2: Summit, is in development with a storied focus on the recent geopolitical climate between both Koreas and the U.S. According to Pierce Conran at KOFIC, Jung’s agency insists the actor is keen on reprising his role as asting is reportedly underway with production eyeing […]

PROMARE Teaser: GKIDS Plots Its Fall Rollout For TRIGGER’s Spectacular Debut Anime Feature!

Lee B. Golden III

Here to remind you of their debut awesomeness with feature-length anime is Studio TRIGGER’s most recent U.S. outing, Promare. Hiroyuki Imaishi, the mind behind series hits like Gurren Lagaan and Kill La Kill directs the company’a first long form animation spectacle which since landed a home at GKids for its Fall rollout. That release sets with a special two-day theatrical event on September 17 and 19, followed by an opening in select theaters on September 20. Tickets are officially on sale at PromareMovie.com while the banner just rolled out the official U.S. teaser. Check it out above and see about those tickets while you can! The first feature-length film from the acclaimed studio TRIGGER, creators of the hit series KILL la KILL and Little Witch Academia, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi (GURREN LAGANN, KILL la KILL), Promare uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story, and is […]

Supernatural Action Thriller THE DIVINE FURY Rages On North American Screens August 16!

Lee B. Golden III

Well Go USA is officially two-for-two with their second announcement of the week with the acquisition of supranational action thriller, The Divine Fury. Kim Joo-Hwan directs the film reuniting with Midnight Runners actor Park Seo-Joon for an August 16 release in the U.S.! After losing his father at a young age in a terrible accident, Yong-hu abandons his Christian faith and chooses to only believe in himself. Now as an adult, Yong-hu is a champion fighter and has everything he has ever wanted, that is until mysterious wounds appear in the palms of his hands. He solicits help from a local priest Father Ahn (Ahn), hoping the priest can help relieve him of the painful markings only to find himself in the middle of a dangerous fight against otherworldly evil forces seeking to wreak havoc on the human world. Joining Park are actors Ahn Sung-Ki and Woo Do-Hwan with martial […]

LKFF Screening Series: Korean Period Epic FENGSHUI To Make Its Europe Premiere In The UK July 22

Lee B. Golden III

Just before the next London Korean Film Festival commences this Autumn, the festival’s screening series continues onward with its third title this year for its European Premiere of Park Hee-Kon‘s Fall 2018 epic, Fengshui. From The Face Reader (2013) and The Throne (2015), to last year’s LKFF-favourite The Princess and the Matchmaker (2018), bringing famous historical figures to life on the big screen has proved a recurring success at the Korean box office. This ever-popular historical drama genre returns to the UK with Director Park Hee-kon’s action-packed Fengshui. Park Jae-sang (Cho Seung-woo, Inside Men) is a Fengshui Master hiding from a tragic past by using his talents to read the land around him and offering advice to those who need it – from desperate mothers unable to convince their sons to study, to market sellers struggling to boost sales, and even newly-weds wanting to spice up their love lives. After […]

Bernard Rose’s SAMURAI MARATHON Makes A Run In 2020 For Well Go USA

Lee B. Golden III

Well Go USA is officially warming up and stretching its muscles to release Bernard Rose’s latest period outing, Samurai Marathon. The film just premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival with the company now announcing its acquisition for a 2020 release (read our review). Directed by Rose and scored by Philip Glass, the film is based on a true story about the first-ever marathon run in all of Japan. Set at the end of Edo period, Jinnai (Rurouni Kenshin franchise star Takeru Satoh), a secret ninja residing in Annaka village where he’s been assigned to survey activity. Having acted hastily before the village Lord’s announcement of an intense race to further reinforce pride and discipline in Japan, he’s forced to defy his ninja oath and help stave off the assassins mistakenly out to kill the village Lord for defying Japanese rule. via THR: “Samurai Marathon is such an engrossing, […]

THE DIVINE FURY Gets A Korean Release Date And New Key And Sales Art

Lee B. Golden III

A dark forecast awaits Koala and Midnight Runners director Kim Joo-Hwan’s newest South Korean thriller, The Divine Fury, which is now slated for a July 31 release. The newest official poster is taking stage as well as an English-subbed version of a recent trailer just above. Kim reunites with Midnight Runners actor Park Seo-Joon who tackles the role of an MMA fighter with atheistic principles and a tragic past. When an affliction awakens through scars on his hands, questions begin to arise with hopeful answers through a chance meeting with an exorcist, sparking revelations about his own destiny and newfound abilities ahead of a forthcoming battle with an emissary of The Devil himself. Joining park are actors Ahn Sung-Ki and Woo Do-Hwan with martial arts choreography by Park Yong-Shik. Check out the trailer above and the latest domestic and international sales art from Lotte below.

COLD BLOOD Review: A Word On Jean Reno’s Latest ‘Professional’ Semi-Redux

Lee B. Golden III

Frederic Petitjean’s latest attempt at the aging hitman genre ends pretty synonymously with a title like Cold Blood. Casting Jean Reno inherently serves fans of the actor familiar with his heyday as Leon – a more suited tragic hero type compared to the role he plays in this outing opposite actress Sarah Lind. Wintery North American landscapes are the backdrop of the film’s opening sequences with a woman speeding down a path in a snowmobile. Mortally wounded after losing control and crashing, she crawls upon a cabin whose owner approaches her, carefully observing the snow-driven woods behind her before escorting her inside and treating her wounds. Those events, however, are prologue to when the actual story begins – months earlier when our assassin, Henry, takes out a wealthy industrialist up close before a clean getaway, leaving nary a trace for detectives Kappa (Joe Anderson) and Davies (Ihor Ciszkewycz) to follow […]

FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS AND SHAW Invites You To Cowboy Up For The Final Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Director David Leitch’s Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs And Shaw, released its final trailer on Friday for its due date on August 2. To say the stunts and action that have been sampled thusfar are some of the craziest there may be might even be an understatment, underline no less than by what we now see within the new trailers first minute: a riproaring car chase on the streets of London with close calls galore and a shot of the Black Superman himself, Idris Elba, recovering after wrecking through a double decker bus… Yeah… you may want to avoid looking at this trailer lest you spoil the fun of seeing it all unfold on the big screen in a few months. Other than that, you’d be forgiven for endulging in the first place. Elba stars opposite leads Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham with Vanessa Kirby, Helen Mirren and Eiza González, […]

THE WHITE STORM 2: DRUG LORDS Opens In North America, Australia & New Zealand On July 12

Lee B. Golden III

Director Herman Yau’s latest follow-up to Benny Chan’s 2013 hit is just weeks away with The White Storm 2: Drug Lords. Andy Lau, Louis Koo and Michael Miu lead the cast for a July 12 release in North America, Australia and New Zealand from CMC Pictures ahead of its Hong Kong opening the following week. Former gang member Yu Shin-Tin turned businessman and philanthropist is a on a mission to take down Hong Kong’s most powerful drug lord. After losing his father to drug addiction, no price is too big as his offers a $100 million bounty for his head.

FANTASIA XXIII: Tokyo Ghoul: S, Ready Or Not, Promare, Kingdom, Bliss And Many More Illuminate The Full 2019 Line-Up!

Lee B. Golden III

The first wave for this year’s Fantasia Festival was a real treat to take a gander at, but as always, the first wave was only ever a taste: Here you’ll find a raft of amazing titles that are making the rounds at many an event this year, including anime feature, Promare, and live-actioners Kingdom and Tokyo Ghoul: S – all three of which are set to make headwat at LA’s Anime Expo as we speak. Fantasia attendees will also get to immerse themselves in recent releases like Yuichi Fukuda’s Gintama 2: Rules Are Made To Be Broken, and Korean revenge thriller, No Mercy, as well as upcoming action thriller, Killerman, and recent Tribeca darling, Bliss. The line-up is a fully-loaded entree of wonder to get excited for and if you’re at all keen on this event, by all means, get your dibs ASAP! Long-running Montreal genre festival to host World […]

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CHARLIE’S ANGELS: Watch The First Official Trailer For The Elizabeth Banks-Directed Big Screen Re-Reboot

Lee B. Golden III

Roughly six months since wrapping principal photography, the new Charlie’s Angels reboot has an official trailer. Actress Elizabeth Banks (Perfect Pitch franchise) brings her own incarnation of the iconic spy team quarterback, Bosley to the fray while helming the new film based on the classic TV series. Director Elizabeth Banks takes the helm as the next generation of fearless Charlie’s Angels take flight. In Banks’ bold vision, Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska are working for the mysterious Charles Townsend, whose security and investigative agency has expanded internationally. With the world’s smartest, bravest, and most highly trained women all over the globe, there are now teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys taking on the toughest jobs everywhere. Banks also penned the script with Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn taking on story duties. This one comes in Novemeber, and I’m a little torn about this since McG’s feature remakes […]

MYST: Village Roadshow To Dive Deep Into Wide-Spanning Content Creation Based On Hit Video Game

Lee B. Golden III

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group put the word out on Wednesday for their latest acquisition of film and TV rights to best-selling video game, Myst. The game first took off in 1993 from the minds of sibling creators Rand and Robyn Miller through their company, Cyan. The brothers will partner with Village Roadshow to develop and produce alongside co-creator Ryan Miller, as well as Isaac Testerman and Yale Rice at Delve Media. Apart from its 10,000 year-long canonical history, Myst primarily follows Atrus, a brilliant (if a bit naïve) grandson of Anna, a woman who triggers a world-shaping set of events when she discovers the D’ni civilization in a cavern deep below the New Mexico desert. The D’ni have a unique ability to write books that can link to other worlds. The discovery of their ability and the clash of cultures is the catalyst for novels and games. Until 2002, Myst […]

FESTIVAL NITS DE CINEMA ORIENTAL DE VIC XVI: Thai Retrospectives, Samurai Thrills And Jackie Chan Among 20 Titles To Look For

Lee B. Golden III

The Festival Nits De Cinema Oriental De Vic in Catalunya, Spain, is about to enter its sixteenth year in BIG fashion with some cool new premieres and retrospectives. The festival’s 32-title line-up will be giving deep into a variety of genres from horror and animation to comedy and drama, and for its Asian film coverage, you can especially predict there’ll be some terrific action titles making their European and otherwise international. Among some 20 titles we’ve gathered, the Thai retrospectives should be a crowdpleaser for fans looking to catch films like BKO: Bangkok Knockout and Panna Rittikrai classics like Hard Gun and Born To Fight. Family adventures will also make the rounds including Jackie Chan’s The Knight Of Shadows and Vidyut Jammwal’s elephant rescue actioner, Junglee, while Hong Kong takes aim with Big Brother starring Donnie Yen and Golden Job with Ekin Cheng, and Japan enters the fray with Takahiro […]

BETTER DAYS Review: A Transformative Ode To The Young And Disillusioned

Derek Tsang’s BETTER DAYS, Delayed In China, Now Delayed In North America

Lee B. Golden III

China film bureaucracy has gained a foothold once again with the delay of Derek Tsang’s new movie, Better Days, now extended to Well Go USA Entertainment’s domain in the states. The film’s overseas delay was initially reported on Monday following an official statement via Weibo. “After considering the level of completion of ‘Better Days’ and our market pre-assessments, and following consultations between the production and distribution parties, the film will not be released on June 27.” says the Weibo account per Monday’s report at Variety. “A new release date will be announced at a later time.” The news also marks the latest stumble for the beleagured coming-of-age drama which was pulled from the Berlin line-up at the last minute earlier this year. Other films have also suffered similar stagnant results in the festival circuit thanks principally to Chinese censors, included Zhang Yimou’s One Second, Guan Hu’s The Eight Hundred and […]