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EXILED: THE CHOSEN ONES Reveals A Behind-The-Scenes Glimpse Of Pre-Production On The Covid-Safe Survival Thriller

Tune in to director Ranjeet S. Marwa’s Instagram for the next several days and you’ll likely spot him on the Birmingham set for his new independent survival actioner, now titled Exiled: The Chosen Ones. The filmmaker is currently teasing several photos from the set, three in which are enclosed in a collage he’s sent to our inbox which you can tap to view above, with Marwa joined by lead actor Sunny Pang (The Night Comes For Us) and co-star/stunt performer Nick Khan (Tribal: Get Out Alive) who also serves as fight choreographer. Pang stars from a script by Marwa, playing Hiro, 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. Other cast members will be officially announced in the […]

ARCHENEMY Trailer And Poster: Whatever You Do, Don’t Say The Word ‘Super’ Around Joe Manganiello

Lee B. Golden III

Currently set to screen for this year’s Fuck Covid Edition of Beyond Fest, the Adam Egypt Mortimer-directed Joe Manganiello starrer, Archenemy, is slated for an on-demand, digital and select-theatrical release on December 11. Thus, RLJE Films has dropped the official trailer which you can now view above, as well as the official poster, designed by Christian Ward. In ARCHENEMY, Max Fist (Manganiello) claims to be a hero from another dimension who fell through time and space to Earth, where he has no powers. No one believes his stories except for a local teen named Hamster. Together, they take to the streets to wipe out the local drug syndicate and its vicious crime boss known as The Manager. Also starring are Skylan Brooks (“Empire”), Zolee Griggs (“W-Tang: An American Saga”), Amy Seimetz (Pet Semetary) and Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”).

HAVOC: ‘The Villainess’ Director To Tackle DMZ Thriller With Monarch Media

Lee B. Golden III

Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro is reporting that filmmaker Jung Byung-gil will step to the helm for DMZ military thriller, Havoc. Production is slated for the Spring with a script inspired by actual events, penned by Eric Tipton and based on an original idea by Steve Barnett and Daniel Myrick. As D’Alessandro notes, Havoc “tells the story of a U.S. helicopter crashing on the North Korean side of the DMZ. With tensions between the North and South already on the verge of war, the surviving U.S. Army Reservists must work together to protect a civilian tech-specialist and find their way across the DMZ, without the possibility of U.S. military support. Both Jung and [Monarch Media’s Lewis] Kim served in the South Korean military, performing several missions with U.S. soldiers, and plan to bring their experiences to Havoc.” Bernie Goldmann is producing alongside Monarch Media’s Barnett and Alan Powell, and Kim, with Monarch’s […]

COBRA KAI Teases Season Three, In-Training For Season Four

Lee B. Golden III

Netflix is etching in a fourth season of hit series, Cobra Kai, as the trades reported on Friday. The news comes following the show’s transition from YouTube Premium to Netflix as of August 28, ultimately climbing its way up to the streamer’s top ten list. Spun-off from John G. Avildsen’s 1984 drama, The Karate Kid, actors William Zabka and Ralph Macchio reprise their roles as Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, in a story that explores the coming-of-age rivalry among today’s generation of martial arts students when the down-and-out Lawrence reopens the notorious Cobra Kai, imploring LaRusso to respond in turn with the rebirth of Miyagi-Do. Cast members Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser and Tanner Buchanan are among the lot expected to return for season three when it premieres exclusively on Netflix beginning January 8, 2021. Zabka and Macchio serve as co-exec producers on the hit series which hails from Counterbalance Entertainment, […]

NAIL IN THE COFFIN: THE FALL & RISE OF VAMPIRO Review: The Brutal, Punishing Story Of A Rebel With One Cause Too Many

Lee B. Golden III

Grade school was one of the more momentous times during boyhood for wrestling, growing up. I wasn’t immediately into it right away until after a few years, but if you’ve ever watched wrestling and engaged in the scripted on-screen drama that went with a lot of the skits on both sides of the ring, you can imagine how passionate one has to be to the point of inescapability when it comes to the sport and spectacle. Understandably, however, that level of commitment comes at a dire price for some, a fact deeply explored in director Michael Pazst’s latest documentary, Nail In The Coffin: The Fall And Rise Of Vampiro, which sets out to gauge the twenty-year saga of Ian “Vampiro” Hodgkinson, whose own love for the wrestling industry often comes to a head when minding how often his job has pulled him away from the quieter, simple life from his […]

ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG Review: When Love Flames Sparks In Magical Cities

Mike Garcia

It’s undeniable how highly influenced this movie is in ‘Before the sunrise’ (Richard Linklater, 1995), it is the same type of film but setting the action on the streets of Hong Kong instead of Europe, in which we follow the actors through a 78 minutes walk through the streets of that magical city. A journey of two strangers that meet by coincidence, that we get to know at the same time that they get to know each other, without knowing that they will end up wrapped in a red thread of fate that they will remember for all their lifetime, even if the thread gets cut down. Maybe at first you may think that this is going to be a cheap copy of Linklater’s film but although that uses the same exact formula, soon develops its own personality, turning into a really original idea, in which the city becomes a […]

ARROW: Adams Family’s THE DEEPER YOU DIG Heads October Selects For New Streamer Launch

Lee B. Golden III

John Adams and Toby Poser’s latest Adams family horror thriller, The Deeper You Dig, is leading the way at Arrow Video for next month’s launch of self-titled streamer, Arrow. The news comes in the wake of the company’s success with the Arrow Video Channel, which is currently available in the U.S. and U.K. via Apple TV+ and Amazon depending on your location. Per the announcement, Arrow Video is offering a free 30-day trial with subscriptions plans ranging from $4.99 per month to $49.99 annually. The October 1 launch throughout North America will extend to iOS (iPhones and iPads), tvOS (Apple TVs), Android (all Android devices), Fire TV (all Amazon Fire TV Sticks, boxes, etc.), Roku (all Roku sticks, boxes, devices, etc.) and on all web browsers. The Deeper You Dig stars Poser and Adams, and actress Zelda Adams, and centers on Ivy, a Bogus tarot card reader, and her teenage […]

NO SUDDEN MOVE Begins Covid-Regulated Shoot For HBO Max

Lee B. Golden III

Beholden to strict Covid-19 protocols, production is officially underway in Detroit for No Sudden Move, a new heist thriller from HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures. Oscar and Emmy-winner Steven Soderbergh (Oceans Trilogy, Haywire) is directing from a script by Ed Solomon (Mosaic, Men in Black), with Casey Silver (Mosaic, Godless) attached to produce. No Sudden Move is set in 1955 Detroit, and centers on a group of small-time criminals who are hired to steal what they think is a simple document. When their plan goes horribly wrong, their search for who hired them – and for what ultimate purpose – weaves them through all echelons of the race-torn, rapidly changing city. The ensemble cast is led by Don Cheadle (Black Monday, Ocean’s Eleven), Benicio Del Toro (The French Dispatch, Sicario), David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow), Amy Seimetz (The Comey Rule, The Girlfriend Experience), Jon Hamm (Baby Driver, Mad […]

ARCHENEMY: RLJE To Release New Superpowered Fantasy Thriller This December

Lee B. Golden III

Daniel Isn’t Real helmer Adam Egypt Mortimer’s new fantasy thriller, Archenemy, will release theatrically, on digital and on-demand beginning December 11, from AMC’s RLJE Films. Festival attendees currently making plans to catch the film earlier may do so for BeyondFest world premiere on October 2, and at Sitges beginning October 8. Mortimer produces, as well as directs from his own script, with a story led by actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood) who also produces. In the film, Manganiello plays Max Fist, who claims to be a hero from another dimension after falling through time and space to land on Earth, where he has no powers. No one believes his stories except for a local teen named Hamster. Together, they take to the streets to wipe out the local drug syndicate and its vicious crime boss known as The Manager. Storied by Mortimer, and by Lucas Passmore (No Good Heroes), Archenemy […]

NIGHTSTREAM 2020 Unveils Full Program Ahead Of October Launch!

Lee B. Golden III

Back in August, the good folks behind Nightstream teased an exciting and massive effort shared among partnership between five film festivals, all of which endured a heavy shortfall thanks to the idiot pandemic that swept the world. The official line-up is finally here, host to rafts of features and shorts, as well as online panels and more, with Aneesh Chaganty’s Hulu thriller, Run, setting the pace for opening night with 37 more features there after, including a small handful of Nightstream Retro selections, lots of panels, and short film blocks hosted by each respective festival brand. Nightstream is a debut collaborative effort for virtual audiences, comprised of Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights. The online event runs from October 8 through 11 with select films available until October 14. Read on, and visit nightstream.org more details! NIGHTSTREAM is thrilled to unveil its program of films and […]

THE FALL GUY: Classic ABC Series Makes The Jump To The Big Screen, David Leitch And Ryan Gosling Attached

Lee B. Golden III

Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is still plotting Bullet Train for Sony, but thanks to Universal, the 87Eleven stunt multi-hyphenate who’s spent since 2014 leaving an impression in the director’s chair will soon bring to life a feature adaptation based on the 1981 ABC series, The Fall Guy. Deadline’s Justin Kroll was the first to break the news, while THR has more insider info on the project’s title; The latter cites a $125 million dollar bid for the project in a heated auction for Universal against MGM, Lionsgate and Sony, with no streamers involved, as a theatrical release was part of the package. Glen A. Larson created the hit series which lasted five years, casting Lee Majors in the role of Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who plied his trade both for the screen, and for his side hustle as a bounty hunter with the help of his cousin and […]

OH F*CK, IT’S PEACEMAKER!: James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Tie-In Is Coming To HBO Max

Lee B. Golden III

HBO Max is in active development with a straight-to-series order for Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker!, as announced by WarnerMedia on Wednesday. The new series will explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons, tying in to the highly anticipated upcoming DC adaptation, The Suicide Squad film, directed by James Gunn and currently aiming for an August 6, 2021 release. John Cena will reprise his role from the film to star in the series, with Gunn tapped to pen all eight episodes, as well as direct the first among multiple episodes as the company plans to shoot next year. Gunn will also serve as exec producer along with The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran, with Cena co-exec producing. Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company are producing in association with Warner Bros. Television. Exact plot details are nil, although WarnerMedia describes Cena’s forthcoming incarnation of Peacemaker as […]

IT FEELS SO GOOD Review: One way ticket to a lost in time volcano of passion

Mike Garcia

Naoko (Kumi Takiuchi) comes back to her hometown to Prepare her wedding to a Self-Defense forces officer, but once there, she meets again with Kenji (Tasuku Emoto), her first love from the past to whom she has invited to her upcoming wedding, and to whom she propose to a have a last one night stand before she becomes someone else’s wife. However, the flames of the lust they once shared are still burning vividly, turning their affair into a torrid passionate sexual affair that engulf them, making them realize that they were born to love each other. Based on a novel by Kazufumi Shiraishi, this erotic drama is a torrid portrayal of a couple lost in time united again by the fervid clutches of lust, using their new time together to recover the wasting time as a one way ticket into the nostalgic capsule of time, going again through every […]

David Oyelowo, Jimmie Fails, Barry Pepper

SOLITARY: Nate Paker To Shoot Upcoming David Oyewolo Drama In Vancouver Next Week

Lee B. Golden III

Nate Parker (The Birth Of A Nation) is set to begin production on Vancover, B.C.-based BRON’s newest drama, Solitary, starting next week. BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo (Selma) leads the cast along with Olivia Washington (The Butler), Emmy award winner Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) and Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco). In Solitary, Oyewolo plays a man who struggles to matriculate back into society after enduring seven years of wrongful imprisonment in solitary confinement. Irony kicks in upon realizing that self-isolation is the new normal, as he tries to rebuild a life with his fiancé (Washington) and son, while plagued by the deep-seated trauma which creates unimaginable danger for both him, and the family he’s battling to protect. Solitary marks the latest project from BRON in what they deem as “their continuing mission to bring socially conscious and underrepresented stories to the forefront […]

GANGS OF LONDON Trailer Sets Exclusive October 1 Premiere Date On AMC+ For The Brutal Hit Crime Series

Lee B. Golden III

Folks in the U.S. patiently waiting to utilize their subscriptions to AMC+ will finally get their day with the official word of the hit British crime series, Gangs Of London, premeiring weekly episodes beginning October 1. The official trailer is now live, as well as keyart for the premiere with the show set to run on television starting in 2021. Actors Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Pure, Black Mirror) and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Humans), lead the critically-acclaimed show that’s taken the U.K. by storm, centered on the son of a powerful London crimeboss whose death creates a power vacuum that throws the city in chaos. Also starring are Colm Meaney (Star Trek, Hell on Wheels, Layer Cake), Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials, Black Earth Rising Kiri), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones, Suits) Paapa Essiedu (Press, Kiri) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (MatherFatherSon, Harlots, Sick Note). Evans, best known for sweeping audience favor with film […]

LOVE IN THE MUD (泥だらけの純情) Review: A love that arises from a stab, can only end in the mud

Mike Garcia

A girl from a wealthy family, daughter of the ambassador to Spain (Momoe Yamaguchi) is surprised by some yakuzas who attemp to rape her, but fortunately for her, a thug from the neighborhood (Tomokazu Miura) appears to save her stealing her heart in the proccess… However, They both come from very different backgrounds and worlds apart, and their love will not be a bed of roses, but rather a bath in the mud. Directed by Sokichi Tomimoto, Love in The Mud (1977) was the second adaptation of a novel into cinema, and one of the many films that Momoe Yamaguchi and Tomokazu Miura starred together and in which they forged their love off the screen, until they got married and she retired forever from show business to dedicate herself to her family, leaving her big fandom waiting for a return that never happened. Love in the Mud is a title […]

Now On Tubi TV: Jung Doo-Hung Needs Revenge Like He Needs Knife In The Head In Crime Thriller, FIST & FURIOUS

Lee B. Golden III

As far as catching streamable rare titles goes, Tubi TV does catch on to some pretty good picks. One of its most recent quiet acquisitions includes Ha Won-joon’s sophomore directing debut, Fist & Furious; I agree, the title sounds like the name of a B-movie release a la The Asylum. Granted though, it hails the return of actor and action star Jung Doo-hung in a key action lead role for the first time since Ryoo Seung-wan’s The City Of Violence. Ha directs from his own script, a story that tells of Kang Ki-man (Jung Doo-hung), a beleagured cop on a mission to bust major drug kingpin, Jung Tae-hwa (Jung Eui-gap). Ambushed and wounded, Kang is forced to live the rest of his life with a blade wedged deep into his brain, on top of the burden of his rookie partner’s sacrifice to save his life. Soon, a chance moment of […]

LET IT SNOW Forecasts Releases In The UK, Australia and NZ For Arclight

Lee B. Golden III

International sales agent, Arclight, successfully landed a distribution deal for the U.K., Australia and New Zealand releases of Stanislav Kapralov’s feature directing debut, Let It Snow. The news comes following Lionsgate’s own acquisition via Grindstone with a DVD, Digital and On-Demand release in tow for September 22. A terrifying blend of action and horror, Let It Snow may just be the ride of your life. As Mia and Max visit a remote European resort for a freeride snowboarding vacation, they ignore the receptionist’s disturbing tales of unexplained deaths on the nearby trails. But when they sneak onto a forbidden slope, Max goes missing, and Mia finds herself attacked by a masked snowmobiler. Now she must brave the rider’s vicious attacks as well as a massive avalanche if she hopes to survive… Kapralov directs from a script he wrote with Omri Rose, and with a cast that lists actress Ivanna Sakhno […]

NYAFF XIX Review: In FORBIDDEN DREAM, Hur Jin-Ho Reaches For The Stars

Lee B. Golden III

Screening for the 19th New York Asian Film Festival, director Hur Jin-ho’s 15th century drama, Forbidden Dream, takes a page from history to shed light on a unique friendship, tried and tested at a precipice of Joseon history. Written by Jung Bum-sik and Lee Ji-min, the film starts forward in time when the royal palanquin is wrecked with the ailing King Sejong (Han Suk-kyu) still inside. The 1442 incident is but one of several key moments that introduce the core story, beginning twenty years earlier with the entry of Jang Yeong-sil (Choi Min-sik), a low-born slave with a keenness for engineering and a distinct appreciation for stars. Sejong catches on to Yeong-sil’s adept understanding and thirst for knowledge and handiwork, tasking him to help lead Joseon out of the dark ages and into the future by inventing a clock suited for the kingdom. Even going so far as to pull […]

SAVIORS: Cinedigm Releases New Suspense Thriller On DVD And Digital

Lee B. Golden III

Award-winning screenwriter Christopher Greenslate has been climbing the ladder for sometime now through television and feature production developments. He’s only recently directed his first feature with the current release of Saviors from Cinedigm and Glass House Distribution, after winning awards at festivals in Madrid and in Beverly Hills among the praise its received from around the world. In a single, continuous take spanning multiple locations, writer and director Christopher Greenslate takes his audience deep into an amazingly taut and suspenseful ride through the racially charged world filled with a hateful divide many people face every day. SAVIORS follows a young woman as she embeds herself into a white power group to locate her adoptive African-American mother but on her first night, she is forced to test her allegiance to the group when she finds herself needing to make a life or death decision after the group returns from a rally […]