crime
J-Pop Star, ELLY, Takes Out The TRASH In The New Trailer For Gonno's Latest!
Kento (ELLY) has never lost in his hometown.
BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY To Re-Release On Blu-Ray In November!
Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) gave the world Japan’s answer to The Godfather with this violent yakuza saga, influencing filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) to Takashi Miike (Graveyard of Honor, Audition). Made within just two years, the five-film series brought a new kind of realism and ferocity to the crime genre in Japan, revitalizing the industry and leading to unprecedented commercial and critical success.
Indie Crime Thriller, ROOM 236: UNLAWFUL JUSTICE, Unveils Its First Official Trailer!
As with any independent film production, there are always challenges that will arise and all of which proved to be nonetheless opportune for film duo Frank Figueroa and actor Wilfredo Torres. Now in its completion, their debut crime thriller, Room 236: Unlawful Justice, lends another symbolic victory three years in the making for Florida’s independent film community with the progressive establishment of Frank Films, in addition to the career growth of local film and action design group, Genesis Action Stunts.
Torres, who himself bears a background in law enforcement, makes his collective film debut as a tough and hard-boiled police captain whose own aggressiveness and devotion to crimefighting is often met with shades of grey, whilst disaffecting his family in the process. His tenacious investigation into a powerful criminal organization unfortunately goes awry with the exposure of an undercover cop whose daughter is kidnapped as a result, forcing him to go above and beyond the call of duty with the help of fellow comrades to rescue her, resulting in a climax that could very well merge into a sequel.
The film is poised for a ceremonial AMC theatrical screening in Florida as it aims to extend its outreach to investors as well as other aspiring film professionals. Granted, of course, the sequel could very well start production early next year should reception bode well on the evening of the premiere which is dated for November 21, 2015.
Further release plans are pending while more information can be found in the description below with links to the official website and fan page. Otherwise, check out the extended trailer below and stay tuned for more information.
Everything Is Connected In The New Teaser For BOND:KIZUNA
It’s early days right now, but actor, writer and director Yamakita Ryuji‘s newest directorial feature debut, Bond:Kizuna is already well underway through its promotional campaign via social media. We have our first teaser now making the rounds, aside from the addition of legendary actor Sonny Chiba, it’s indie with a ton of relatively new faces headlined by actor David Yeung (son of Bloodsport co-star Bolo Yeung), actress Courtney Palm, and co-stars Ivory Broome and Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist co-star Gaku Space who are also producing. Suffice it to say, the people behind the action are Nakamura Tadahiro and Abe Tsuyoshi, two veteran action impressarios better known for their contributions to action cinema as members of Sakamoto Koichi’s team, Alpha Stunts, so that should be plenty worth checking out in this latest bit of intertwining, multilayered tale of crime, vengenace and love.
Nothing Is Sacred In The New Shortfilm Trailer For BLACK SCAR BLUES
It certainly comes with great pleasure that I finally get to talk about the longstanding work from filmmakers Lester “Leroy” Nguyen, and Edmond Shum and the folks over at independent filmgroup, Rising Tiger Films. While I had known of them for some time, I’ve come into the new year with an ample opportunity to finally observe more of their material with an eye on several of their latest projects, namely their latest shortfilm crime drama, Black Scar Blues.
Clocked in at about forty-five minutes, the shortfilm is the team’s biggest project so far, featuring Nguyen and Shum in a gritty, gruesome character study centered on a friendship between two low-level drug pushers, and the destruction that ensues when high ambitions deepen personal wounds. Its neo-noir setting, coupled with some great performances by Nguyen and actress Queen Sayat, and strong color contrasts between the intense drama and violent imagery make for a well-balanced head-stomping ode to the genre that, in my humble opinion, would make Brian De Palma quite proud.
Black Scar Blues is currenrly awaiting confirmation from its other film festival entires for this year before its planned commercial release. In the meantime check out the trailer for Black Scar Blues in the player below.
Indian Crime Epic, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR Gets A Two-Part U.S. Theatrical And VOD Release
From Guneet Monga, the producer of THE LUNCHBOX, the most successful foreign-language movie of 2014 to date in the U.S., GANGS OF WASSEYPUR is director/writer/producer Anurag Kashyap’s ambitious and extraordinary blood-and-bullets fueled crime saga that charts seventy years in the lives – and spectacular deaths – of two mafia-like families fighting for control of the coal-mining town of Wasseypur, India. Inspired by the real-life exploits of local gangs and beginning with the bandit-like career of Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) in the 1940s, the film follows the ruthless rise of his son Sardar (a brilliant Manoj Bajpayee) and his offspring, the surreally-named Danish, Perpendicular and Definitive Khans and their numerous wives and girlfriends.
RUN HOME JACK: Help Fund Enligh10 Media's New Martial Arts/Parkour Crime Short
The Austin, Texas branch of independent film company Enligh10 Media is less than a week from the end of their campaign to help fund their newest action-packed short, Run Home Jack. Shortfilm director Mathew Ruybal is set to helm the project with his own script, telling of a mild-mannered introvert in his 30’s whose chance encounter with a group of men seeking to hire him for his “skills” puts him in a moral dilemma that forces him to choose between his new life, or a return to that which he once thought to have abandoned for good.
DREDD 3D Gets A One-Night Screening At Tribeca Cinemas In New York City!
There may have been a point in time when director Pete Travis‘s live-action iteration of the 2000 A.D. comic book favorite, Dredd 3D, would have been lost to the ages as a commercial failure, thus crippling any hopes for a sequel. Well, it’s 2014, and if the latest second annual #DayOfDredd celebration on October 1, 2014 shows you nothing else, it shows you that Travis‘s 2012 has been nothing short of a huge success! And not for nothing either!
The goal here has always been a sequel, and it is a goal that has only inched itself closer and closer, thanks in large part to support from fans and the leading voices at the Make A Dredd Sequel campaign on Facebook. Those efforts are also showing signs of live, largely with support from the film’s male and female lead, actor Karl Urban and actress Olivia Thirlby, whose assurances of continual support of the film will eventually lead toward a much-deserved sequel (or a prequel depending on how things will work out regarding recent updates seen HERE.)
Thankfully, the film is now heading back to the big screen for a one-night only showcase of the film, slated for October 11, 2014 at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City. An Eventbrite page has also been set up for those interested in purchasing tickets, so feel free to check it out, as well as the official website for Tribeca Cinemas for more info.
Dredd 3D is produced by screenwriter Alex Garland and producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich, and is executive produced by Stuart Ford, Deepak Nayar and Adi Shankar. Urban and Thirlby are joined by actresses Lena Headey and Rakie Ayola, and actors Wood Harris, Warrick Grier, Domhnall Gleeson, Deobia Oparei.
The film is also available on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD, and wherever movies are sold.
H/T: Make A Dredd Sequel
Godbout Entertainment Presents: THE TRADE (2014)
It was last year as Florida stunt team Genesis Action Stunts founder Anthony Giovanni Elias began emerging a little more prominently into the independent film scene that I caught wind of his participation in a thrilling new shortfilm from Emmy award-winning editor, writer, producer and director Gerald Godbout III. Featuring up-and-coming actor and producer Dennis Jusino and actor Jimmy Dempster, The Trade had its initial summer premiere on July 26 this year at Premiere Cinema 14 in Orlando, Florida, soon to earn the praises of several critics from different media sites thereafter. I don’t live in Florida, although I did have the good fortune of being allowed a screening link of my own from the director. And considering he’s gone out of his way to step from his horror cinema roots to explore the action genre in some fashion, I couldn’t reject getting on board.
The Trade sees Jusino and Dempster as cousins Anthony and Frank, two ambitious hustlers who have worked their way up from a life of petty crime to leading high-end services in the sex industry. Their success is so far matched by their collective willingness to abide by a set of rules that oblige them to never fall in love with their employees, no killing, and always putting family first no matter what – with particular, specific emphasis on the latter. Unfortunately, personal ambitions take over when Anthony falls in love with Carolina (Britanny Santos), and Frank goes over Anthony’s head and starts doing business with the local Russian mob. Soon, tragedy strikes, leaving loyalties uncertain and forcing Anthony and Frank to settle their interfamililal differences once and for all.
This particular project was my first introduction to Godbout III as a director. While working with a low budget does have its hinderances, The Trade gives the director a chance to tell an ample story that allows him to push the envelope a bit between just a few scenes of violence, as well as nudity considering the story. We are presented with a moment-to-moment formula of storytelling that takes off pretty fast, but remains consistent without losing the viewer.
Some roles were smaller than others, including Santos‘s role as Anthony’s love interest, Carolina, whose scenes mostly involve no dialogue, so we don’t really get to know her very well. Beyond that, the shortfilm is well acted, the action is good, and we are given a story that doesn’t really try too hard to be anything else other than what it is – a dark, gritty crime drama set in a notably evil world where there is greed, lust, danger, tragedy, and no real heroes…or apologies for that matter.
I enjoyed what Godbout III and his team have done for this, his latest contribution to the action genre. Jusino and Dempster are really good actors who have proven they can carry themselves in an action sequence, thanks in part to Elias’s coordination and training, and I look forward to what comes next from Godbout III in the years to come.
Last, but not least, I offer my dear thanks to Godbout III for outlining my name in the list of Special Thanks in the end credits. I mark it as another rare achievement in my life as part of a community I remain physically far from, but close in proximity thanks to social networking while I remain here at Film Combat Syndicate. By all means, keep me busy and keep on creating!
The Trade is still making the festival rounds before finally being allowed open to the public. In the meantime, watch the NSFW trailer and stay tuned for more info.
Watch The New Full Trailer For Sono Sion's TOKYO TRIBE
Japan cinema goers are a month and a half away from the release of director Sono Sion‘s new live-action manga adaptation Tokyo Tribe, and the full action-packed trailer has just arrived courtesy of Nikkatsu offering a better glimpse into what Sono‘s vision of author Santa Inoue’s universe looks like on screen. And if the new trailer is any indication, it looks like Sono is going the route of part fantasy gangster thriller spectacle, part hip-hop musical, with lead debut actor Young Dais and actor Shota Sometani kicking things off with a few rhymes of their own.
