News

AJIN: DEMI HUMAN: Death, Life And Epic Creature Battles Are A Repeat Process In The First Official Trailer For The Live-Action Adaptation

It’s understandable that one forgets things. Amid all the film festival hype I damn near forgot that a live-action adaptation of Sakurai Gamon’s hit manga, Ajin: Demi Human was on the way which makes me wonder how come it’s not heading to festivals this year, unless I’m wrong. If not, I reckon part of this is due to the amount of work being put into the spectacular action sequences and immersive visuals with Bayside Shakedown film series and Shaolin Girl helmer Motohiro Katsuyuki at the helm. There wasn’t a lot of footage in the previous teaser to showcase it much but there was just enough to garner some much-deserved interest and as of Sunday, to say the least, the official trailer guarantees the promise being offered here in a much more assuring fashion. The film opens in Japan on September 30 and much to the delight of fans of both the manga, […]

20th Century Fox’s APES Triple Feature Launches Ticket Sales

Lee B. Golden III

While some may be pining for what lies ahead with Matt Reeves’s involvement in the future of Batman, the director’s current run with Twentieth Century Fox’s latest July 14 release, War For The Planet Of The Apes. The studio is now priming tickets for a triple feature launching on July 12 in exclusive RealD 3D presentation that spans all three films: Rupert Wyatt’s 2011 action adventure, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, and Reeves’s Dawn (2014) and War installments. Motion capture pioneering actor Andy Serkis is central to the trilogy as Caesar, the subject of an experiment gone haywire initially meant as a cure for Alzheimer’s disease that has spawned legions of apes becoming self-aware and declaring their own liberation and independence from humans, ensuing in an all-out war to determine the longevity of either species. Comprising the human cast of the trilogy are James Franco, Frieda Pinto and […]

DARKLAND: Dar Salim Wreaks Vigilante Vengenace In The Latest Trailer For The Danish Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

With only his second narrative feature, Danish writer/director Fenar Ahmad struck success in the festival circuit between now and late last year for his hit film, Darkland. StudioCanal UK now has it own stake in the film with a date pending and for this, an official trailer arrived earlier this month for what may well precede a late summer/early Fall release. Zaid is a successful surgeon and lives in a fancy apartment with his pregnant girlfriend. One night Zaid’s younger brother, Yasin, knocks on his door and asks his brother for money. Zaid refuses. A few days later Yasin gets assaulted and killed. Since the police are not very helpful, Zaid feels forced to find out who did it himself and embarks on a mission to eliminate all the criminal gangs in Copenhagen. He disguises himself and takes on the criminal underworld. But Zaid’s persistent battle results in serious consequences […]

Chinese Fantasy Romance Epic, ONCE UPON A TIME, Slates An August 3D North American Release

Lee B. Golden III

Acclaimed cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao (House of Flying Daggers, The Great Wall, The Flower of War, The City of Golden Armor) and decorated VFX wizard Anthony LaMolinara (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2) will both be making a feature directorial debut this year partnering for the new fantasy romance epic, Once Upon A Time. The film takes its cues from Tang Qi’s popular novel, “Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms”, which led to Gcoo Entertainment’s TV series succession, Eternal Love. ONCE UPON A TIME is a story of epic battles, deep passion, life-threatening evil, and the power of magic. Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from the Heavenly Realms, is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. There, she meets Ye Hua with whom she falls in love and marries. However, when an old enemy reappears in her life, everything she holds dear becomes threatened. […]

MUMON: THE LAND OF STEALTH Wages Full On Ninja War In The International Trailer!

Lee B. Golden III

Popular auteur Nakamura Yoshihiro is getting July off to a swift start for the release of his latest. Mumon: The Land Of Stealth. With actor Ono Satoshi leading the cast, the film’s July 1 opening in Japan will be proceeded by its opening night starpower at this year’s 11th installment of Japan Cuts in New York City on July 13. Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon (Satoshi Ohno, of idol group Arashi) is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s (Satomi Ishihara of Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan) demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or […]

Catch The Official Trailer For The 16th New York Asian Film Festival!

Lee B. Golden III

The 16th annual New York Asian Film Festival kicks off next Friday with a line-up jam-packed with noted favorites. 57 feature films including 3 International Premieres, 21 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, and 15 films making their NYC debuts as well as in-person appearances by more than 20 film professionals are what’s at stake this summer, thus promising a fine feat of festival furor. Get wooed by die-hard romantics, unnerved by devil children, and bear witness to the fury of angry young men on paths of destruction in the sweet sixteenth edition of the New York Asian Film Festival. Wild cinematic outings that always have something to say about the human condition, this summer’s crop of titles range from the heartwarming to the desperately dark. Dive headfirst into the raging sea of talent from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and across South East Asia—filmmakers unafraid to take on […]

Director Renny Harlin To Helm Chinese-Language Action Adventure Thriller, THE HANGING COFFIN

Lee B. Golden III

Acclaimating amply to the Asian aesthetic is noted Hollywood director Renny Harlin since relocating to Beijing, China in the last few years. With projects like Skiptrace and the recent production of Legend Of The Ancient Sword under his belt, Harlin is now readying his third Chinese-language film, The Hanging Coffin. The film was announced on Sunday last weekend at the top of the 20th installment of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Plot details are unclear while Harlin will direct from a script by The Shallows scribe Tony Jaswinski which will boast an “action adventure-cum-thriller featuring extreme sports, tomb raiding and mutant creatures” according to THR. The film hails from Shanghai Film Group and Shanghai New Wave Films and is expected to cast both Hollywood and Chinese talent in the coming months.

THE FOREIGNER Emerges In The First Official U.S. Poster

Lee B. Golden III

Honorary Oscar winner Jackie Chan is in Shanghai stirring a ruckus for attendees and fellow stars at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival. More news on this will rollout eventually and there will be plenty to sift over amid the buzz for Chan and his upcoming titles, and the same goes for the Fall release of the new thriller, The Foreigner, which is getting an October 13 release from STX. The film takes its cues from Stephen Leather’s novel, The Chinaman and is adapted for the screen by David Marconi with Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell directing. Chan is joined by Pierce Brosnan, Liu Tao and Katie Leung for the story of a South London restaurant owner who reverts to the lethal skillset built in his dark past, paving his own way for vengeance after an IRA terrorist attack that kills his family and the justice system fails him. The […]

Disney’s HAN SOLO Spin-Off Replaces Its Directors With Ron Howard

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been an eventful week for the Star Wars/Han Solo spin-off. The departure of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller due to their creative fallout with writer and executive producer Lawrence Kasdan has been a severely upsetting development for a lot of fans who might be keen on the film’s delivery aside from any previous measure of skepticism. Production remains on hiatus until July 10 as the studio tries to quell the upheaval and the first step they’ve now taken is finding a replacement, now confirmed with the attachment of In The Heart Of The Sea helmer Ron Howard. The film has Alden Ehrenreich starring in the title role for an origin narrative with Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton starring. Howard’s attachment does have a few things going for it, with his status as an Oscar-winning director with credits such as Apollo 13 and A […]

BATTLESHIP ISLAND: Catch The Latest Trailer And Poster For Ryoo Seung-Wan's Wartime Escape Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

For all intents and purposes, it’s worth reminding not to forget about director Ryoo Seung-Wan’s latest, Battleship Island. Thus, I’m inclined to share the most recent trailer for the film which opens in Korea on June 30 as it boasts a massively entertaining wartime epic from a fine director and cast. That roster is led by actors Hwang Jung-Min, So Ji-Sub and Song Joong-Ki as survivors among hundreds of others held prisoner and forced into manual slave labor on Hashima Island by the Japanese during World War II. The film is already host to over a hundred territories for its roll out including my backyard here in North America so definitely look for this one from your region’s distributor following its South Korean open in early July. You could literally accredit Ryoo for any of his films leading up to this apart from the 2015 action comedy, Veteran, but I […]

Kevin Costner And Woody Harrelson In Talks For Netflix Bonnie & Clyde Crime Drama, HIGHWAYMAN

Lee B. Golden III

John Lee Hancock (The Founder, Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) will direct Highwayman in a deal long in the works that now sees the lingering crime drama in development at its new home at Netflix. The project was initially brewing at Universal Pictures for four years with a script by John Fusco that has since been redone by Hancock. The film, according to Deadline, is the long-awaited feature-length treatment of the Depression Era story told from the angle of Frank Hamer and Manny Gault as they led a posse of commissioned lawmen to bring an end to the infamous and deadly crime spree led by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in the 1930s. Actors Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson are in early talks to star in the respective roles of Hamer and Gault, the former known as a legendary Texas Ranger who survived 53 gunfights and killed 100 people. Given […]

Action Drama AMERICAN FIGHTER Taps Shaun Piccinino To Direct For ESX

Lee B. Golden III

Acclaimed director and film multi-hyphenate Shaun Piccinino is set to direct American Fighter for ESX Entertainment. The film is a sequel to last year’s American Wrestler: The Wizard which starred actor George Kosturos in the 1980-set tale of a young Iranian teen transplanted into a new town where he’s forced to face adversity from all angles after joining the high school wrestling team. Kosturos is returning to the sequel according to a new report from Variety which also lists Tommy Flanagan, Bryan Craig, Sean Patrick Flanery and Parviz Sayyad attached to star. Forrest Lucas, Ali Afshar, Christina Moore and Anna Zielinski are producing the film with a story by Afshar that now centers on a desperate teen who builds character between opponents upon competing in the underground fight circuit to save his dying mother. “Continuing down the line of a ‘Rocky’ meets ‘Karate Kid’ story, this new ‘American Wrestler’ movie remains a […]

GINTAMA: THE MITSUBA ARC: A Tale Of Brotherly Love, Rivalry And Loyalty In The First Trailer For The Web Drama Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

The end is almost nigh for the wait until Fukuda Yuichi’s release of the new movie, Gintama, inspired by the pages of Sorachi Hideaki’s popular manga and subsequent anime series. The film is readying for a world premiere at Fantasia Fest next month followed by another screening in Bucheon later this year while Japan audiences gear up for a July 14 release with a live-action take on the Benizakura Arc. For this, we turn to the continuation of the tale now in the form of a three-part web drama that will stream on July 15 on Japan’s dTV platform with Gintama: The Mitsuba Arc, which delves heartily into the back story of the bittersweet rivalry between the two elite members of Edo’s samurai police unit, The Shinsengumi. Actors Yagira Yuga, Yoshizawa Ryo and Nakamura Kankuro are back along with, and supermodel and actress Kitano Kie in the respective roles of […]

RE:BORN: It’s All-Out Guerilla Warfare In The Brand New Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Having had a stellar festival run throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. with last year’s Fantastic Fest premiere, director Shimomura Yuji’s new film, Re:Born, has seen quite the journey to its praise. The same can amply be applied to the resurgence of its star, actor Sakaguchi Tak who, given personal career circumstances, essentially had to keep off radar and thankfully, that dry patch is now over and done. How so? Well, despite intial speculations of Re:Born being his last film, it has instead been noticeably buzzed as his return and one that stands deservedly on ceremony. Together with WAVE innovator, close quarters fighting expert Inagawa Yoshitaka and host to a story sampling from the inspired dark, reclusive tales of real-life commandos, Sakaguchi stars as a small town clerk forced to adhere to his bloodlust once again following a string of military murders and the emergence of a squad of clandestined soldiers […]

Decorated Finnish Period Drama, THE FENCER, Fights For More Than Sport In The Latest Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Director Klaus Härö’s new film, The Fencer, has seen an ample and noteworthy festival run in the past year or so, celebrated highly throughout Europe and for several crowds in the U.S. for the multi-award winning feat it has grown to be. The Finnish period drama is based on a true story with Estonian actor Märt Avandi starring in the title role from a script by Anna Heinämaa and will now make its way toward City Cinemas in New York City on July 21 and at the Royal and Playhouse 7 in Los Angeles, California on August 11 before releasing nationally. A young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students. Endel becomes a father figure to his students and starts teaching them his great passion – […]

Will Patty Jenkins Return To Direct WONDER WOMAN 2?

Lee B. Golden III

While Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman became a global hit in its first live-action film since hitting comic book pages more than seventy years ago, perhaps one of several major misfires was not having her signed right away for the sequel. This led to the question persisting as the film began circulating in the press as the promotional tour was under way leaving any and all wondering just when this would happen. On Tuesday, Variety posted an interview with Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, the two men helping to shephed the DC Universe in its current evolution, wherein among the questions were the following two: Will Patty Jenkins be back to direct the sequel to “Wonder Woman”? Johns: Patty and I are writing the treatment right now. The goal is to make another great “Wonder Woman” film. I had a blast making it with Patty the first time. We’ve got a cool […]

Yuen Woo-Ping’s INVISIBLE GUARD Hails An Announcement Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

If Monday’s news pertaining to action legend Yuen Woo-Ping’s attachment to the live-action adventure tale, Invisible Guard, perhaps the newly-unveiled concept trailer and artwork will seal your interest. There’s no casting info, of course, but it’s a partnership between two longstanding stalwarts thusfar with Yuen joined by John Woo cohort and longtime producer Terence Chang of Lucida Entertainment. View the concept trailer and subsequent artwork below and click here for Monday’s initial verbiage. H/T: Asian Film Strike

6 Badasses, A Truckload Of Gold, And Some Serious Mustache Game In The New BAADSHAHO Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Once Upon A Time In Mumbai and OUATIM: Dobara helmer Milan Luthria is back with an alluring new heist thriller that isn’t pulling any punches. Baadshaho is the name of the film set in a time of political upheaval leading to a state emergency in 1975 that saw the curbing of civil liberties throughout India. At the center of our story here is one written by Luthria cohort Rajat Arora which sees a ragtag group of headlining ‘badasses’ plotting to steal a truckload of gold. An ensemble cast led by longstanding thesp, actor Ajay Devgn rounds with actor Emraan Hashmi, actresses Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta, and actor Vidyut Jammwal for the film’s September 1 release… Of course though, not to be outdone is the level of action and spectacle seen here next to the serious mustache game being presented. Class AF. Check it out. BAADSHAHO – Character Posters And […]

The Brand New AMERICAN ASSASSIN Red-Band Trailer Teases ‘This Is Just The Beginning!’

Lee B. Golden III

Michael Cuesta’s new movie, American Assassin, is ready to flesh out more of its A-game this week in a brand new red-band trailer from CBS Films. Front and center is actor Dylan O’Brien starring as the on-screen iteration of popular literary protagonist, Mitch Rapp, a CIA black ops recruit who sets out to take matters in his own hands, training in record excel and killing as many terrorists as possible in the wake of a deadly attack that saw his girlfriend as collateral. Joining O’Brien are actress Sanaa Lathan as CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy, and Shiva Negar as the lethal Turkish agent who aids Rapp on his mission, and actor Michael Keaton who plays Rapp’s handler, Cold War veteran Stan Hurley who doles out some cold, hard hand-to-hand advice in more ways than one in this latest trailer. The villain, of course, is played by Taylor Kitsch who gets […]

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THE STEWARD: Cristal Picks Up ‘John Wick’ Franchise Writer’s Original Action Spec Script

Lee B. Golden III

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad may have his hands busy building further into the violent world of stoic assassin-turned-agent of vengeance John Wick. With a third film in development and the hopeful attachment of director Chad Stahelski who himself is plotting a TV series spin-off along with a reboot of Highlander among other projects, the Wisconsin-native has become a fascinating favorite among action fans paying close attention to what happens to the brewing trilogy. With that in mind, it bears mentioning, and essentially wondering, the possibilities beyond this franchise with regard to other projects from here on. At current, The Steward has arrived to answer that question per new reports as this, being the title of a new original action thriller which Kolstad is also penning. There aren’t any plot details to divulge although the original pitch from Kolstad himself was brought to Cristal Pictures who will fully finance and produce the […]