Streaming Sleepers: In DON’T MESS WITH GRANDMA, Michael Jai White Saves The Day By Sunset!
DON’T MESS WITH GRANDMA stars Michael Jai White and Billy Zane, and is directed by Jason Krawczyk
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KINGDOM: RETURN OF THE GREAT GENERAL Review: Shinsuke Sato’s Latest Rages On In An Extant Tale Of High Drama And Heroic Bloodshed
Kingdom: Return Of The Great General is now streaming on Netflix in the U.S. Imaginably, if the rest of us outside of Japan got to see Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom: Return Of The Great General, the film would have easily listed for many of us somewhere in our top favorite action titles of 2024. Interest be damned, however, the obligatory window still applies for titles like these, and now the film is finally streaming on Netflix as of Wednesday. Sato’s continued adaptation of Yasuhisa Hara’s celebrated manga-cum-anime fave re-establishes the cast of the franchise thusfar, led by Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, and Takao Osawa, as well as Nana Seino. Additionally, the film also brings back actors Koji Kikkawa and Oguri Shun whose characters are introduced in the outro sequences of the previous chapter, Kingdom: The Flame Of Destiny. As Ohki (Osawa) prepares to lead the Qin army into its […]
DARK MATCH Throws Down The Gory Goods In The Official Trailer!
I tried like crazy last year to catch Lowell Dean’s head-bashing ringside horror, Dark Match, while it performed for Fantasia. Alas, that never came to pass, but the film is now poised for release via Shudder in the U.S., the U.K. & Ireland, and in Australia & New Zealand on January 31. A small-time wrestling company accepts a well-paying gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans for their match. The official trailer is here as well and delivering all the unhinged, R-rated violence and gore you would expect from a violent tourno wrestling spectacle from the man who brought you Wolfcop and its sequel. Dark Match stars Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Michael Eklund, and Jonathan Cherry, and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. Catch the bloody new trailer below, and mind your viewing surroundings […]
Streaming Sleepers: In THE BROKENHEARTED, A Bruising Redemption Tale That Goes Down Swinging
Fifteen years is probably long enough for someone like Leroy Nguyen to have lived and toiled through the independent film arena to garner a book publication one day. Whether or not that day comes remains to be seen, while his latest feature film makes the release rounds via Amazon on digital for rental or purchase with The Brokenhearted, a gritty new crime drama that is also poised to be his final bow. Black Scar Blues was the first time I’d really been able to get a hold of Nguyen’s work, and only because he reached out to me on social media three years prior to its release. The film gave me a really good handle on his cinematic vision which sets discernibly apart from other independent creatives with whom he’s collaborated – folks like Fernando Jay Huerto, Joey Min, and Joseph Le to name a few. The Brokenhearted is an […]
ARROW PLAYER Announces Bustling January SVOD Line-Up
It’s been a while since I promoted anything Arrow Player-related. The streamer is back this month with a new line-up announcements for its January rollouts and it’s chock-filled with classic action titles and horror delights to help meet it’s subscribers demand. The streamer itself is available in North America and the UK and you can learn more about it at the official website. Arrow Video is excited to announce the January 2025 lineup of their subscription-based ARROW platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Enjoy a selection of new titles, from carefully cultivated curations to shorts by new talent. For serious enthusiasts, ARROW offers deep dives into the tastes of filmmakers that changed the way we see the genre.In a recent profile, the New York Times praised ARROW and noted, “Viewers with a fondness for the esoteric will be hard-pressed to find more quality bang for their streaming buck.” The January 2025 lineup […]
Streaming Sleepers: Fede Álvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS Plants A Seed For Franchise Vitality
I don’t typically do horror, but I love a good, intense, well-made thriller in the various subsets of the genre. In particular, I love what Fede Álvarez accomplished with Alien: Romulus, which is currently streaming on Hulu. Cailee Spaeny was incredible in the front-and-center role of action heroine Rain Carradine, who along with adopted brother and Weyland-Yutani android, Andy, played by David Jonsson, pair up with a ragtag group of survivors to leave their unyielding work colony on LV-410 and head for the serene planet Yvaga. What they don’t know is that the abandoned station for which they’ve just commandeered is full of hibernating xenomorphs eager to do what they do best: Hunt and breed, using humans as incubators to kill and consume anything living or breathing, and in their way. I haven’t seen Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, so those are on my watchlist to take in at some point […]
Streaming Sleepers: Reiki Tsuno’s MAD CATS Claws Its Way To Prime, Tubi, And More In The U.S.
Mad Cats was originally reviewed for the 29th edition of the Slamdance Film Festival. The movie was released on All-Region Blu-Ray in the UK from Third Window Films, and originally as a streaming exclusive on Midnight Pulp. If you regularly take in Asian movies, then you can certainly understand director Reiki Tsuno’s logic and motivation of late. Citing a need for Japanese filmgoing audiences to enjoy “fun movies that make you feel happy,” it comes as no surprise that he would create a film that centers its narrative on one of the most enigmatic yet culturally beloved domestic mammals, particularly in Japan. What’s impressive, of course, is the degree to which Tsuno pulls this feat off in his feature directorial debut, Mad Cats, which screens for Slamdance this weekend. Prefacing our story is an opening sequence host to an eerie hilltop with five women in white gowns, standing several feet apart […]
Streaming Sleepers: The RED PEONY GAMBLER Trilogy From Film Movement Classics Is A Sure Win
I’m really fond of where my interest in film has taken me since I started this journey. I credit festivals for helping me open my eyes a little more, and now I can’t get enough of seeing classic kung fu, crime, and action out of boutiques like Arrow Video and even Film Movement which has been brimming its library up these days with throwbacks out of Japan. Their latest addition comes by way of a franchise out of Toei, among which a trio is now available for streaming via digital and on-demand as the Red Peony Gambler trilogy. Actress Junko Fuji headlines the saga alongside a bevy of Toei’s talent roster – several with whom the actress shares a number of screen credits throughout her career, including Ken Takakura, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Bin Amatsu and others. Kosaku Yamashita directs the 1968 first installment of these “ninkyo eiga” titles from a script […]
Streaming Sleepers: THE BIG GIFT Rewards You With Holiday-Filled Comedy Beat ‘Em Up Thrills
The holidays are just around the corner, folks! Alas, a shorthand push is ordered here for Jarrod Crook’s latest action comedy, The Big Gift. The film landed on Prime for a while and only recently made its debut via free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi. An unemployed father must do whatever he can to ensure his son receives the gift he wants for Christmas, even if it means battling it out with Santa. Crooks directed from a script he co-wrote with co-star Erin Antilla. I was allowed a screener at one point a few years ago and my subsequent review thusly reads in part with the following: Light-hearted, warm, and with a solemn, introspective message that doesn’t get lost on the viewer amidst the spectacle, The Big Gift marks another return to form for Crooks who deserves more ceremony and coverage than he gets. With The Big Gift, Crooks gets a […]
BLACK DOVES: Kiera Knightly Spies A Vengeful Eye In The Official Trailer
Director Alex Gabassi’s new spy thriller episodic, Black Doves, has an official trailer and poster this week which you can check out below. Written and created by Joe Barton for Netflix, the series stars Kiera Knightley, Ben Wishaw, and Sarah Lancashire. Set against the backdrop of London at Christmas, BLACK DOVES is a sharp, action-filled and heartfelt story of friendship and sacrifice. It follows Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), a quick-witted, down to earth, dedicated wife and mother — and professional spy. For 10 years, she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for: the Black Doves. When her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to keep her safe. Together, Helen and Sam set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason and why, leading them to uncover […]
A Case For Better Action Movies: Timo Tjahjanto’s THE SHADOW STRAYS Casts A Bright Future For Its Director
I may be of the minority when I say I wish that Timo Tjahjanto‘s latest October Netflix launch, The Shadow Strays, instead released in December as did his previous streaming banger, The Big 4 in 2022. This way, at least The Shadow Strays would feel like a proper Christmas action thriller, and not for nothing either considering the film starts in a snow-driven Yakuza safehouse where a boss with a godcomplex awaits his otherwise imminent demise. The opening action scene alone may well be worth its own whole article, at that, while the film’s current run on Netflix as of last week is now the talk of any and all in the fandom, most notably fans of Tjahjanto who’ve followed the director’s Mo’ Brothers era with a stake in the horror genre that’s conjoined him with the dialogue of Asian film and action cinema fans in the years since Indonesian […]
Streaming Sleepers: Prime Video Makes Known Cinder Chou’s ARTIST UNKNOWN!
Somewhere in New York City is someone (me) taken completely aback by the out-of-the-blue arrival of indie romantic action comedy, Artist Unknown, on Amazon Prime Video. Indeed Film Combat Syndicate was one of the lucky ones to get a chance and screen it outside from its festival circuitry and you can believe it’s a hearty, poignant little debut from an up-and-coming filmmaker with her first foray in the chair after years of climbing the entertainment ladder and wearing multiple hats on different productions. That’s the multi-faceted Chou for you, who directs from her own script a cast led by Kerry Lacy, Sam Jaikaran, and Sonia Mena, for the story of a struggling assistant MMA coach whose spur-of-the-moment purchase of a thrift store painting unravels a mystery far greater beyond the stroke of a brush when a chance romance ensues thereafter. The film is also just one of a few projects […]
Streaming Sleepers: Bren Foster’s LIFE AFTER FIGHTING Fights On Via Tubi!
I can say with full certainty that actor and filmmaker Bren Foster’s new movie, Life After Fighting, is one of this year’s best watches among the martial arts fandom. And, plenty would agree. The film opened in the U.S. on digital over the summer and enjoyed festive screenings for select audiences in the U.S. as well as locally in Australia where Foster is based. The action-packed drama sets off when an ex-champion-turned-teacher is forced to confront a chilling revelation in his neighborhood when two of his students go missing. The story intensifies well into the second half when our hero finds himself confronting the odds, turning his school into ground zero for the ultimate battle against a small army of child traffickers. Crucial to its success, in my view at least, is the heightened drama that sets in when the stakes are raised. The tangible subject matter is easily something […]
LIKE A DRAGON: YAKUZA Unleashes The Beast In The Official Series Trailer!
The official trailer is now live for Amazon’s Prime Video Japan series adaptation of hit SEGA game franchise, Like A Dragon: Yakuza. The six-part gangland episodic will stream the first three episodes on October 24. Released in 2005 by SEGA, the ‘Yakuza’ game series was positioned as an entertaining game for adults, which found massive fanfare amongst its target audience. The series depicts the lives of fierce yet passionate gangsters and people living in a huge entertainment district, Kamurochō, a fictional district modeled after the violent Shinjuku ward’s Kabukichō, that acts as the backdrop of the gameplay. Like a Dragon: Yakuza showcases modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore. Like A Dragon: Yakuza stars Ryoma Takeuchi (Love You As The World Ends franchise) and Kento Kaku (From Today, It’s My […]
TEACUP: A Storm Brews In The Official Horror Series Trailer For Peacock
Attendees at the 19th edition of Fantastic Fest got a taste of things to come from upcoming horror thriller series, Teacup. The new Peacock episodic now has an official trailer and key art which you can view below. From modern-day master of horror and the mind behind The Conjuring and Insidious, James Wan’s Atomic Monster produces the series with UCP, joined by first-time showrunner Ian McCulloch (Yellowstone). TEACUP stars Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale), Scott Speedman (Grey’s Anatomy), and Chaske Spencer (The English) and follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Teacup also stars Boris McGiver, and Emmy winning actress Kathy Baker, and will stream the first two episodes exclusively on Peacock on Oct 10, with two episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays until Halloween, October 31. Watch the new trailer:
Streaming Sleepers: Killers And Killer Gimmicks Run Amuck In Chris Huo’s THE COMEBACK
The Comeback is currently streaming on Hi-YAH!, and is available on Digital from Well Go USA. Mainland action titles tend to fall by the wayside for me. This is mainly because I don’t have an iQIYI account like some of my mutuals do, and so I rely on the good will and economic viability of a streamer like Hi-YAH! to obtain these kinds of titles for their output to the niche Asian film crowd which I’m a part of. Alas, we get The Comeback, which marks the most recent reteaming of director Chris Huo and his Blind War star Andy On, who takes a seat here as antagonist to lead thespian Simon Yam. The streamer’s logline would have you thinking differently as it cites Yam’s role as Mr. Hua, a revered antique dealer in a small village who helps fight back against a violent gang trying to seize the properties. […]
BABY ASSASSINS EVERYDAY!: Catch The First English-Subbed Episode Via TV Tokyo On YouTube!
The official TV Tokyo YouTube channel has begun premiering Baby Assassins Everyday!, the new series exponent of the hit film franchise from acclaimed director Yugo Sakamoto. The show returns Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa in the lead roles of two young adults in their daily travails to sustain a living for themselves in today’s economy while working for a clandestine guild of assassins. The first episode also features actor Takuya Kusakawa in a key role for the story as it reveals the inner workings of the guild, while the show will also introduce members of Chisato’s family, and further inclinations that things will change in the fabric of the otherwise tight bond between both lethal ladies. The series also includes franchise regulars Tsubasa Tobinaga, Atomu Mizuishi, and Tomo Nakao, along with Tokio Emoto and Hirotaro Honda more to come. The show’s arrival comes following an ongoing campaign for the third […]
Streaming Sleepers: In TERMINATOR ZERO, An Essential Reboot For A Franchise That Desperately Needed One
Stream Terminator Zero on Netflix. Forty years since the Terminator universe took off, the franchise saw some of the highest highs and equally low points. It became a multimedia marvel and entertainment staple within the first two films, followed by four more encompassing the universe in which heroes find themselves battling an oncoming robot/cyborg invasion on both sides of an apocalypse. The latter several are hit or miss depending on where you get your sci-fi takes, although I think it’s fair to conclude failed to live up to the property’s grand potential. If that were the case, the John Connor saga wouldn’t have faltered as it did, and the legacy star power added to the last live-action effort from director Tim Miller might have borne fruit. Perhaps its even more adequate to assert that if the creators on hand were more open instead of purblind to just condensing the story […]
Watch Akari Takaishi And Saori Izawa Take Over A Gun Range To Promote BABY ASSASSINS EVERYDAY!
If more Baby Assassins is what you want, then we’re bound to get it at some point. For now, regional residents in the market for TV Tokyo content will be the ones getting first dibs at Baby Assassins Everyday, the new 12-part spin-off series of the whipsmart action comedy film franchise that launched in 2021, announced back in May. Whether or not the series takes place before or after the upcoming Baby Assassins: Nice Days remains to be seen. What we do know is that the show will explore the inner-workings of the guild for which our two lead characters work as they struggle to thrive between jobs as hitwomen, and coming-of-age adults in a crummy job market. Lead actresses Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa are in the show along with a few other faces from the franchise thusfar, while new editions also include Takuya Kusakawa, Tokio Emoto, and Hirotaro […]
Streaming Sleepers: In THE KILLER, John Woo’s Revival Delivers With An Acquired Taste
3 min. read John Woo’s latest iteration of The Killer is now streaming on Peacock. The film is Woo’s own reimagining of his 1989 Hong Kong action classic with Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. I haven’t seen the OG film in ages to draw a comparison for this write-up, but I’m still drawn to speak on its behalf given some of the hate its gotten. Indeed, the film isn’t meant for everyone, like with most films of its kind, but there’s no question that Woo draws from his own strengths to dish out a fascinating take with a lead in Nathalie Emmanuel, who proves through and through here that she can take a lead action role to task. Emmanuel is a covert hitwoman named Zee, who works for shadowy handler Finn, played by Sam Worthington. When she’s assigned to take out a target, innocent bystander and songstress Jenn […]