Stills

EXILED: THE CHOSEN ONES Spotlights Sunny Pang And Hannah Al-Rashid In The New Survival Thriller [EXCLUSIVE]

It would be an understatement to call 2020 a challenging year, what with politics, catastrophic disasters, and a global pandemic all being major factors in how the rest of us who’ve managed to stay alive through all have remained so. To each end, you might even suggest these as suitable a backdrop for a creative offshoot. Filmmaker Ranjeet Marwa’s inspiration kept steadfast during 2020, with efforts to crowdfund one film prior to announcing several others, and ultimately leading the charge with his latest production, Exiled: The Chosen Ones. The film signals Marwa’s premiere stake in martial arts action cinema with Southeast Asian allure, hailing direct from the UK as the first of its kind, with Marwa taking inspiration from the likes of Gareth Evans, and Indonesia’s own Timo Tjahjanto. “What we have in store for the audience is very unique in terms of both actors and location. Nothing of this […]

THE GREAT YOKAI WAR: GUARDIANS Introduces Its Hero In First Look Images For The Miike-Directed Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

If you took a liking any to Takashi Miike’s 2005 Daiei revival from the late 1960s, The Great Yokai War, you’re more than welcome to get your hopes up for more in the new year with the first promo art now online for the follow-up, The Great Yokai War: Guardians. Kadokawa Pictures is also running a first look at young actor Kokoro Terada in the role of Kei Watanabe, as Sci-Fi Japan reports, “an elementary school student with a connection to the yokai”, a hodgepodge of Japanese mythological creatures with a spiritual connection to the world that permeates us. The 2005 film saw a Ryunosuke Kamiki as Tadashi, a young boy tasked with searching for a mystical sword to defeat the evil Yomotsumono and rescue the children of Japan. Official plot details for the sequel are pending but these what we have so far until a teaser arises. Open the […]

LOST PHOENIX: Exclusive New Stills For James Couche’s New Independent Proof Of Concept Thriller Ahead Of Full Feature By 2021

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been several years since some of our readers got to acquaint themselves with contributor James Couche’s ramblings on this website. Fact is, when he’s not publishing here or focused on other projects or important matters, he’s at the helm for his own independent film endeavors as he’s been for the better part of the last fifteen years since serving in the U.S. Air Force a few years earlier. Alas, this now brings us to a round of exclusive stills just above from his latest ambitious Gunsavior Pictures indie banner milestone, Lost Phoenix, starring newcomers, actor Wan DraL (stylized as so), actress Pree Parikh and actor Justin Meyer. Couche officially wrapped principle photography on Monday for a key proof of concept presentation to showcase at film festivals going forward, with plans to resume in Spring 2021 to complete the full feature. Penned and produced by Couche, Lost Phoenix centers on […]

MY ACE DAD: New Posters And Stills From The New Rescue Thriller Starring Andy On And Ray Lui

Lee B. Golden III

Liu Baoxian is at the helm for military style action thriller, My Ace Dad, which currently awaits a release. Andy On lead the charge in the role of an operative who takes on a criminal organization responsible for producing a counterfeit vaccine that affects his daughter. Ray Lui also stars along with Liang Siwen and Wang Yilin, and while we still don’t have a release date, we do have some marketing gems to brandish in the form of stills and poster art, made known thanks to Asian Film Strike on Twitter.

EXILED: THE CHOSEN ONES Commences The Anarchy In Six New Stills From The Upcoming Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Six new stills are online from Ranjeet S. Marwa’s upcoming action thriller, Exiled: The Chosen Ones, which you can check out in the gallery above. Written and directed by Marwa, the film centers on Hiro (Sunny Pang), a cold and calculating Yakuza hitman forced to compete for his life among a row of society’s worst criminals, in a deadly game devised by a corporate cabal overseeing a nefarious population control scheme, while the rich place their bets. Principal photography wrapped last month in Birmingham, U.K.. The film is now in post-production with release plans brewing for 2021. Exiled: The Chosen Ones also stars Hannah Al-Rashid, Oka Antara, and Nisaro Karim, along with David Blackwell, James J. Bryhan and action actor Nick Khan who also serves as fight choreographer. Marwa is also producing the pic via Rocket Sky High Motion Pictures, Ltd., alongside Djonny Chen of Silent D Pictures. A trailer […]

ACÉRÉ: First Images From Ross Peacock’s New Short Sears With A Violent Air

Lee B. Golden III

Parlez-Vous Francais? Well, I suppose it may not really matter at this stage, but the first official images from the new action short, Acéré (which translates to “Sharp“), is making the rounds with Jean-Paul Ly and Law Plancel front and center after wrapping Covid-safe photography a day ago. Plot details are scant on the project as well but it hails from YouTube film essayist, Ross Peacock (a.k.a. Rossatron) who’s been a filmmaker for a while, but has definitely upscaled some having penned the script for action thriller, Killing Field, aspart of a three-picture deal for Bruce Willis at Emmett/Furla as reported in June. Ly and Plancel have been a distinct presence in the last five years with their involvement on short films and features, namely Dead End and proof-of-concept, The Division. The two shared a fight scene moment in Ly’s lead acting debut, Jimmy Henderson’s Cambodian hit film, Jailbreak, in […]

AMERICAN RONIN: Who Is Casting That Ominous Shadow? [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

In April, we first broke the news of a new proof-of-concept in the works for James Moten Black’s American Ronin, described as “a contemporary martial arts piece cosigning his love for classic jidaigeki cinema and anime”. Production ultimately had to take a back seat as the United States landed right into a lockdown with California, where Black and his production is based, under curfew for a time due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The state is currently staggering in its efforts to ween itself into a new “normal”, with various independent creatives working around the pandemic to meet safety guidelines in order to carry out their own projects. Such is the case for Black and his team as they forge ahead with production on American Ronin, with plans for a feature film that will hopefully rejoin him with select cast members of actor, filmmaker and cinematographer Choice Skinner’s multi-awarded 2017 Black […]

RAZE OF THE CYBORG: From Man To Machine, Slaying Human Traffickers In New Stills For Young Lee’s Sci-Fi Action Short

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been nearly a decade since actor and filmmaker Young A. Lee relocated from his bearings here in New York City to Taiwan. He’s done a few television shows since then, while also developing his own sci-fi property, Raze Of The Cyborg. Raze Of The Cyborg hails from Lee’s own independent production firm, Fluid Robot Studios, which is credited for the visual effects applied alongside Renavatio Studios for John Hsu’s multi-award winning 2019 survival horror, Detention, based on the 2017 RPG from Red Candle Games. Lee stars in Raze Of The Cyborg, playing an assassin who fuses his body with cybernetic implants to hunt down human traffickers and rescue his girlfriend. The project also features action sequences by award-winning action director Scott Hung (The Scoundrels, Who Killed Cock Robin, We Are Champions), and is being billed as a proof of concept shortfilm for a hopeful feature. Principal photography wrapped in […]

SEEING ‘RED’: A Word With Actor And Filmmaker Beau Fowler

Lee B. Golden III

This month we were able to discuss the latest reveal for Red, a new concept from actor Beau Fowler and director David Newton. For this, the Coronavirus pandemic that’s currently gripped the world and put the film industry at large at a standstill is just one of the segues Fowler and I observe in our latest Q&A. Click here for the earlier coverage on Red, and enjoy the read below! Beau, it’s great to get in touch with you now about your work. How are you coping with things since the lockdown in your country? I can especially imagine it’s had an impact on the film industry next to just normal everyday life. Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. Tough not being able to go out and do the simple things. Though to be honest I’m still self-taping for projects, and I’m quite used to spending days in development wondering when my […]

FAST & FURIOUS: SPY RACERS Takes Off Online With New Stills

Lee B. Golden III

Next May will determine how the first of the final two installments of the Universal Pictures’ Fast saga will conclude following their recent successful trevails with Hobbs And Shaw. Until then, the studio’s heavy-handed efforts have since paved the way for its partnership with DreamWorks Animation for Netflix original series Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, since its announcement back in June. Netflix now is revealing a voice cast list, a raft of first look stills and a poster, and is also announcing a premiere date set for December 26. The series will focus on Tony Toretto (Tyler Posey), the young cousin of live-action anti-hero Dom Toretto from the films. Following in Dom’s footsteps, Tony and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for SH1FT3R, a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination. Rounding out the lead voice talent are […]

YAKUZA PRINCESS Bows Online With A First Look

Lee B. Golden III

Variety revealed the first look at newcomer, actress and recording artist Masumi with actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Motorrad director Vicente Amorim’s new thriller, Yakuza Princess. The film hails from Filmland Internaccional and wrapped principal photography last month after filming throughout Brazil, including São Paolo and in Paranapiacaba. In Yakuza Princess, Masumi plays an orphan raised in São Paulo only to learn about her true origins when her late yakuza boss father’s bodyguards track her down. Danilo Beyruth, who provided concept art for Amorim’s previous Toronto International Film Festival outing, Motorrad, authors the original comic book on which the film is based. ”’Yakuza Princess’ is an action-packed Brazilian/Japanese/American-thriller. At the same time, it’s also a film about solitude, identity and about coming-of-age in Brazil’s biggest metropolis. It’s an adventure with samurais, ronins and a fearless heroine. Fearless as we filmmakers were when facing this challenge. A challenge up there with […]

ART OF DECEPTION: Breaking Glass Signals New Heist Thriller This Fall

Lee B. Golden III

Richard Ryan’s latest film has since found a new home at Breaking Glass Pictures with Art Of Deception arriving on DVD and VOD on October 8. After uncovering the CIA’s ruthless master plan for world domination by gaining complete mind control over the entire population, top scientist Joseph Markham is ultimately left with a choice: save the lives of billions…or the life of his wife, who has been kidnapped, interrogated, and brutally tortured as she viciously fights for her life. As a nationwide manhunt ensues, deadly assassins pursue, and one man’s decision will determine the fate of the world, Art of Deception is about a fight for life, love and world dominance. The film held its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Awards, followed by screenings in Miami and overseas in Milan, with awards reception from International Independent Film Awards and the Depth of Field International Film Festival Competition, […]

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 […]

PARAGON: Pikchure Zero Signals First Look At New Sci-Fi Action Series Starring Danny Trejo

Lee B. Golden III

Actor, restaurateur and all-around good samaritan Danny Trejo is making his return to the set these days with upcoming sci-fi action series, Paragon. The new show is now in production from Pikchure Zero Entertainment and aiming for seven episodes with 43 minutes between each premiering next year following the network pitch phase. As the announcement enlists, Paragon fixed on the human race dealing with the obliteration of Heaven, centering on the different factions of society as they deal with Heaven’s destruction. With only a small piece of the afterlife to live for, everyone from Death himself is fighting to claim the Elysian for themselves. “We have always loved the Sci-fi fantasy genre, and we wanted to create a series that explored one of the most intriguing questions of humanity. Where do we go when we die? And what would happen if Heaven no longer existed?”, says Justin Price, who in […]

EXCELSIS: ‘Blood, Sweat And Tears’ In Two New Production Stills

Lee B. Golden III

Director Jaze Bordeaux’s latest effort with WMMA sports drama, Excelsis, is out with two new stills which you can view in the gallery above. Production wrapped back in February hailing from Universe Pictures Group and Mr. Bravo Entertainment, and starring actress Karlee Rose. Rose plays Cassady Jones, an amateur fighter whose big break lands before her following her involvement in a melee that shocks the sports world. The EFC (Excelsis Fighting Championship) is currently in the most tumultuous period of its history as Jones and and seven other female competitors are given an opportunity to fight in a tournament to crown a new champion. Understanding that her big break is at hand, Cassady comes to the realization that it’s not just in another fight, it’s the fight for everything. Rose leads a cast that includes Gemini award winner Richard Zeppierri, actresses Andrea Drepaul, Kathry Aboya, Avaah Blackwell and actor Alex […]

RABID: The Soskas Sisters Are Back With A Brand New Feast For Fans At FrightFest XX Next Month!

Lee B. Golden III

The 20th Arrow FrightFest London is weeks away and is leaving space in the line-up for “the Twisted Twins” themselves, Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) to present new horror thriller, Rabid, revamped from David Cronenberg’s 1977 original. An official trailer is now out and about along with new poster art and stills for the film being billed as “bloody, brutal and deranged”, starring Laura Vandervoort (Jigsaw), Benjamin Hollingsworth (Cold Pursuit) and Phil ‘C.M. Punk’ Brooks (Girl on the Third Floor). After aspiring fashion designer Rose (Vandervoort) suffers a disfiguring traffic accident she undergoes a radical and untested stem-cell treatment. The experimental transformation is a miraculous success, transforming her into a ravishing beauty. But she soon develops an uncontrollable sexual appetite, resulting in several torrid encounters, which sees her lovers become rabid carriers of death and disease. As the illness mutates and the contagion spreads out of control, all hell […]

NORTH BEND II: The Incredible Shrinking Wknd, The Gasoline Thieves, Bliss, Feral, Koko-Di Koko-Da, VR And More Kick Off Next Month!

Lee B. Golden III

The second annual North Bend Film Festival is gearing up for its four-day run beginning August 15 and the festival is making public its full announcement. The festival will kick off with Jon Mikel Caballero’s The Incredible Shriking Wknd, and also lists Narrative Centerpiece entry, Knives And Skin, billed by Fantasia’s Mitch Davis as “…A work of unbridled creativity with trace elements of Lynch, high school dramedies, and Giallo cinema woven into a wholly singular, personal fabric…” The line-up enlists 12 feature titles next to boasting an immersive VR shortfilm showcases and focus on multi-reality storytelling and local tours of the North Bend area – best known for its locations seen in the hit show, Twin Peaks for which the official debut teaser upcoming documentary, I Know Catherine, The Log Lady, will also have an exclusive audience. Live shows and podcasts are included in the roster as well, but feel […]

MAD LORD -SAMURAI OF 100 DEATHS - POSTER -FB.jpeg

MAD LORD: SAMURAI OF 1000 DEATHS Depicts Eight Images Of Madness In These Stills From Samuel Smith’s New Short [Exclusive]

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a few years since filmmaker Samuel Smith stirred the festival crowds with short duration epics and thrillers like Tengu, Birdmen of the Mountains and I Am Not The Devil. He’s back and in tow with a longer feat of action and drama from his Imageclever Films banner with Mad Lord: Samurai of 1000 Deaths, and he’s also obliging our site with a raft of exclusive stills which you can take a gander at above. When a great samurai Lord’s mind is infected by devils, his loving Sokushitsu comes to his aid. Knowing of this weakness, the neighbouring Red Samurai seek to deliver the final blow that will end the Black Samurai once and for all. Sokushitsu demands that General Ekei travel to the borders of the Shoguns palace to collect some illegally acquired medicine to aid the ailing Lord. The General returns from his mission with more than […]

VORTEX: Catch The Teaser For Gan Jianyu’s Brooding New Crime Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Gan Jianyu’s newest crime thriller, Vortex, offers a seething and brutal look into a tale of greed and honor. The footage alone speaks volumes for itself and currently serves as one of the crown jewels of Asian arthouse banner Fortissmo Films’ 2019 sales roster going into the new year after recently emerging from bankruptcy. There’s no real release date as of yet but I suspect at least a mid-summer or early Fall rollout given the timing of the teaser now running online. Vortex features The Thousand Faces Of Dunjia actor Da Peng in the role of Liu, a gambling addict whose debt troubles grow more complex when he finds a young girl in the trunk of an unregistered car he tries to sell after stealing. The film also stars Ou Hao, Li Meng, Cao Bingkun and Sha Baoliang, with Cao Weiyu and young actress Audyrey Duo also starring. Peep the […]

FANTASIA FESTIVAL XXIII: The First Wave Unveils NO MERCY, RIOT GIRLS, KILLERMAN, And THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL Among The Summer Line-Up

Lee B. Golden III

Cannes LXXII is wrapped for the year and Fantasia Festival is only one other of the biggest film events remaining as we kick off summer. The first wave has arrived with a full line-up pending for early July and and things are already looking pretty damn prospective for folks aiming to attend. Long awaited action thrillers like Killerman and South Korean revenge thriller, No Mercy are favorably on the roster along with Jovanka Vuckovic’s most recent Neuchatel 2019 pick, Riot Girls, and a special screening of Alex Proyas’s The Crow to bookend a lifetime achievement award reception for producer Edward R. Pressman. The raft of worldly titles in the mix also include Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner Makoto Nagahisa’s We Are Little Zombies, Man Of Will helmer Lee Won-Tae’s Stallone-bound Cannes crowdpleaser, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil coming to the U.S. on June 7 from Well Go USA, Zhu Shengwei’s […]