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HAI PHOUNG: Supermom Veronica Ngo Tears Down Vietnam To Save Her Daughter In The Latest Trailer

Le Van Kiet’s directorial debut, Hai Phuong, will be the go-to for the genre crowd in a season that’s looking evermore ripe by the day for action films. Actress Veronica Ngo is starring for her return to the big screen having lended her craft successfully with films like The Rebel, Clash and David Ayer’s recent sci-fi, Bright, doing a female-fronted taken some good justice for its PR route. In the vein of the international box office hit action film The Raid, Furie follows Hai Phuong (Ngo) a gangster who retired from the life of crime after the birth of her daughter. Despite lying low in the countryside, she can’t seem to escape her violent past when her daughter is kidnapped right before her eyes. Hai Phuong is forced back into the life she swore she would leave behind and will stop at nothing to get her daughter back from the […]

Premiere: SEIZED Rolls Cameras In Mexico With Florentine, Adkins Back On Set

Lee B. Golden III

The week has commenced and principal photography is underway for Isaac Florentine’s Seized. His last film in directing capacity with action star Scott Adkins on Close Range turned out to be quite the less-than-impressive feat for some fans despite some solid performances on the action front, and so hopefully the duo who’ve been kicking it on set together for sixteen years now will finally find their footing together in a setting other than the prison confines of Boykaworld. The news comes following Adkins’ arrival several days ago to Mexico announced via Instagram Story as production rose imminent where he’ll be joined with actor Mario Van Peebles whose role remains undisclosed. The British action star and actor has several more lined-up from this point on, including two pictures with Jesse Johnson for Triple Threat and Avengement, and Wilson Yip’s latest Donnie Yen starrer for Ip Man 4. Read on: Premiere Entertainment […]

Bruce Khan’s REVENGER Signals The Long-Awaited Arrival Of A ‘Legend’

Lee B. Golden III

As you’re reading this, I’m somewhere between wanting to let my memory breathe so I can suss my thoughts, and wanting to put on record what came to mind per the moment. That’s pretty much the common mindset for anyone driven to express themselves in someway or another, and all the while, I couldn’t be happier that a guy like Bruce Khan is channeling his creative fervor through martial arts and action cinema. His career is bookmarked with only a handful of film titles in several facets in stunts and set-extra, and even actor. I’m even more curious to see how well his role was in the KBS2 drama, The Bridal Mask, what with my own penchants toward Korean dramas every now and then. His 2005 film, Young Man Kang’s The Last Eve, remains an appreciated and beloved gem for the film festival crowds lucky to catch it on the […]

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A Case For Better KICKBOXER Movies: ENOUGH ALREADY! (Reprint)

Lee B. Golden III

What I will do is give it to you straight while the last few years of this franchise is painfully fresh in my head as we cheer on the career fruition of its star, Alain Moussi. I like the prospects of seeing him on screen, but fuck it. These Kickboxer movies suck. Enter the elusive John Stockwell who came aboard to helm the 2016 reboot based on the 1989 JCVD revenge thriller. The reboot, dubbed Vengeance, tries to build off of the original and, in essence, segues into a world-building affair brimming with martial arts and muscle as Kurt Sloan trains to defeat the man who murdered his brother in an illegal underground fight in Thailand. Fast forward through the cheddar and cheese of seeing Sloan coconut his way to vengeance with VD waxing strategic in between and we get to the latest, Retaliation. Dimitri Logothetis sits at the helm […]

THE COURIER Rolls Cameras In February Starring Olga Kurylenko And Gary Oldman

Lee B. Golden III

Anyone expectant of Darkest Hour and Hunter Killer actor Gary Oldman staking his claim as a prime choice for cinema villainy won’t be let down anytime soon. He’ll be in Rise Of The Footsoldier 3 director Zackery Adler’s newest, The Courier, another in the action genre for actress Olga Kurylenko of 007 franchise and Momentum fame. As Andrea Wiseman at Deadline reports exclusively on Tuesday, Oldman will play the ruthless crime lord whose actions are the subject of a key witness now marked for death. The method? A package to be delivered by Kurylenko’s title character unbeknowst of its contents. Signature Films steers production to next month with new UK-based Rollercoaster Angel Productions. Additional casting is under way, with Andy Conway and Nicky Tate penning the screenplay. Final Score producer Marc Goldberg will produce next to James Edward Barker whose Mara also starred Kurylenko, and with David Haring (Pandas) and […]

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME First Teaser: Parker Gazes As Mysterio Amazes!

Lee B. Golden III

Long since proving his mettle in the last several MCU movies, Tom Holland is officially back once again per the upcoming release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and I’m no comic book buff so between this and Infinity War, I’m all but lost. It does help to know that this film will kick off Phase Four of Marvel’s sprawling, decade-old cinematic universe, but I’ll leave the rest to the pros to figure out. In the meantime, the new movie rolls out on July 5 after Avengers: Endgame in April, and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio costume is already winning the fans over. Peter Parker returns in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the next chapter of the Spider-Man: Homecoming series! Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few […]

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM Makes It Rain For The First Teaser Poster!

Lee B. Golden III

Keanu Reeves is back for a third time in the ultimate begrudging return of our titular hitman in John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. The forthcoming threequel opens on May 17 and thus, the first official poster, still-form and animated, are now online. “John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run for two reasons… he’s being hunted for a global $14 million dollar open contract on his life, and for breaking a central rule: taking a life on Continental Hotel grounds. The victim was a member of the High Table who ordered the open contract. John should have already been executed, except the Continental’s manager, Winston, has given him a one-hour grace period before he’s “Excommunicado” – membership revoked, banned from all services and cut off from other members. John uses the service industry to stay alive as he fights and kills his way out of New York City.” The old […]

REVENGER ROUNDTABLE: Bruce Khan Gets His Day On Netflix Today, So Get Your Kicks With These Titles As Well!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s Tuesday, January 15, and that means the rarity of watching Korean actor and martial artist Bruce Khan on screen is a rarity no more with the Netflix release of his latest, Revenger. Khan plays a man who infiltrates a remote island prison to partake in a deadly game in order to find his family’s murderer. Lee Seung-won makes his directing debut here with Khan returning to the spotlight since Young Man Kang’s The Last Eve and the 2012 KBS2 drama, The Bridal Mask. I haven’t read the reviews and so like most Westerners who can’t read any Korean reviews for feedback, I’m going into this film albeit blind aside from how impressive the trailers have been in my view. Khan’s return is one that I feel is wholly worth celebrating since The Last Eve which I still haven’t seen. He represents the kind of raw, electrifying action talent it […]

The Korean Roots of Hong Kong Kicking

Eric Jacobus

The fast and precise kicks of Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, and other great Hong Kong action stars are staples of the Hong Kong style of action choreography, but if we look before Bruce’s 1971 breakout hit The Big Boss, there were almost no kicks to be found in any action cinema. Only Billy Jack, released in the same year in America, featured the same high-flying kicks courtesy of Korean Hapkido artist Bong Soo Han. The similarity between Billy Jack’s kicks and Bruce’s in The Big Boss is no mere coincidence: Bruce had picked up his cinematic kicking style by studying from Korean and Vietnam war vets who brought Korean kicks to the USA, Chuck Norris being a major player. In his backyard home videos, we see Bruce shooting spin kicks and stepping side kicks, experimenting with how to make these kicks cinematic. Bruce’s backyard filmmaking endeavors would become […]

THE VILLAINESS: Skybound, Contents Panda Join Forces For TV Series Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Here’s to the entertainment industry giving us all more ample reason to stay home and watch TV! Deadline‘s Peter White is reporting exclusively that stunt coordinator and filmmaker Jung Byung-gil will be on par to direct a pilot episode for a TV series adaptation of 2017 Cannes favorite, The Villainess. Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment (The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead) is shepherding the series in a deal with Next Entertainment World’s Contents Panda with the search now underway for a series writer. The Villainess follows Anes, who was kidnapped from her home in Korea and raised as a deadly assassin in Los Angeles. Just when Anes believes she has found true peace, unsettling events drive her to return to Korea to uncover dangerous truths about her home and her past. The original film, which starred Kim Ok-bin who received multiple award nominations and one win for her key performance, […]

Wakaliwood To Take The U.S. By Storm With WHO KILLED CAPTAIN ALEX? And BAD BLACK On Blu-Ray In May!

Lee B. Golden III

If you’re a film buff who has taken heed to the rise of Wakaliwood through the lasting affects of viral video, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the name IGG – or Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey in full. There’s also a good chance you’ve spotted your fair share of some of the most unbelievably gonzo action movie trailer-age straight from this humble little film industry in Uganda that’s been slowly growing its profile. Some of its residental talents are pretty damn good at screenfighting and showcasing their craft accordingly. Say what you will about the crap dialogue and VFX as per the result of $200 film productions but if there’s one thing you can’t deny about this particular collective is that they are driven! Moreover, as pertinent as timing is, show this to a certain film festival crowd now and guaranteed folks will fondly leave mindblown and in stitches. If […]

Naughty By Its Nostalgic Nature, CROSSBREED Tests The Longevity Of B-Movie Sci-Fi Cheese

Lee B. Golden III

Nostalgic 90s-tinged action seems to be the way to go for some types. It has its moments, sure – a point made all the more clear for some who’ve seen Brandon Slagle’s 2018 actioner, Escape From Ensenada. I’ll have my own opinions on that film when I’ve seen it. In the meantime, he’s taking that same audience into the far reaches of space with Uncork’d Entertainment’s Crossbreed, instantly sharing his keenness on that 90s TV and film lore with the kind direct-to-video sci-fi that’ll have you sifting for your TV Guide to look up when Time Trax and Andromeda are coming on. It’s 2060 when mankind is faced with a post-World War 3 America following an intergalactic fracas with an alien race known as the “sharak-ti”, and somehow, Vernon Wells has outlived the rest of us? Anyway, we begin with dogfight in space with Wells in the role of Murphy, […]

BLACK AND BLUE: Deon Taylor’s NOLA Cop Thriller Fills Its Cast

Lee B. Golden III

Traffik helmer Deon Taylor is setting up to direct Black And Blue, starring Naomie Harris, for Screen Gems according to Amanda N’Duka’s exclusive coverage at Deadline. The Pirates Of The Caribbean and 007 franchise co-star of late is also to be joined by upcoming Donnybrook, Boss Level and Point Blank star Frank Grillo, as well as Reid Scott (Veep), Beau Knapp (Destroyer) and Tyrese Gibson. Sony’s Screen Gems is housing the production from a script by Peter A. Dowling. Harris will play a rookie NOLA cop framed for the murder of a drug dealer and pursued by both sides of the law when when her body cam footage catches the corrupt narcs responsible prior to falling to execute her as well. A seperate report for Black And Blue over at The Hollywood Reporter notes that Gibson, who will rejoin the ensemble for the ninth installment of the Fast And Furious […]

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Reboot Lands ‘Iron Man’, ‘MIB International’ Writers

Lee B. Golden III

Iron Man and upcoming MIB: International scribes Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are being groomed to rewrite the script for Masters Of The Universe. As of last Spring, Band Of Robbers helmers Aaron and Adam Nee are still set to direct the film inspired by the popular He-Man toy franchise of the 70s and 80s from Mattel. It was the franchise that spawned a hit animated series centered on a prince who battles the evil forces of Skeletor to protect the castle, Grayskull. A live-action feature film adaptation from Golan/Globus and director Gary Goddard was released in 1987 to cult acclaim with Dolph Lundgren starring. A new feature take on the property had been in the works for years. A previous version of the script had been written by David S. Goyer who was once tapped to direct following McG’s departure. According to Umberto Gonzalez at The Wrap, Escape Artists’s […]

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SEIZED: Adkins Takes To Instagram To Confirm Isaac Florentine Thriller On Location In Mexico

Lee B. Golden III

Follow actor and martial arts star Scott Adkins on Instagram on Friday and you’ll spot a Story post highlighting his continued adventures with gym hype and his latest venture with WanWan Protein. The post also confirms his arrival to Mexico to commece production on the new action thriller, Seized, which was teased in the markets with a sales poster presented by Premiere Entertainment Group. Carl Rizk, an ex-covert operative who’s moved to a small quiet town in Oregon to raise his son and daughter gets awakened by a phone call and message from a modulated voice telling him that both his children have been kidnapped and buried alive with just enough air to survive for the next 5 hours. In order to ever see his children alive again, Rizk has to take on three distinct groups of highly-skilled criminals and kill each and every one of them. But he has […]

Ashley Scott Meyers’ THE PINCH Lives Up To Its Own Ill-Gotten Expectations

Lee B. Golden III

The zany, off-cuff black comedy is a hard one to tap into when attempts at establishing chemistry falls flat and humor stumbles into the mundane. That’s ultimately what happens in prolific screenwriter Ashley Scott Meyers’ feature directing debut, The Pinch, well over a decade after publishing 2007’s Selling Your Screenplay, and ultimately establishing a podcast based on his own book. There’s quite a bit in The Pinch that works for what it tries to present, and a lot that unfortunately counters those efforts. It’s worth noting there’s some pretty decent performances in the film led by actor Gunnar Wright who plays Rob, a down-on-his-luck courier who has been working the same job for twenty years under the rule of his semi-maniacal boss, Kain, played by James Aston Lake. There isn’t much to go on in terms of establishing their history as childhood friends and so you’re left with a merely […]

THE PUNISHER: Jon Bernthal Is The Last Man Standing In The Official Season Two Trailer!

Lee B. Golden III

While the fate of Netflix series, The Punisher, remains to be seen, the official January 18 premiere date is already set in stone as is the riveting performance now etched in Marvel history by title actor Jon Bernthal. Following the events of the first season in 2017, our stoic ex-marine and outlaw continues to battle enemies on several fronts, now turning his attention to an alt-right Christian fundementalist, as well as an old friend-turned enemy battling the precipice of his own cracked psyche. There were some folks who complained about the first season being too slow. I’m not one to nitpick here about the first season myself as much as I felt the brooding, often slow burn was much more palpable and sustenant than in most of the other now-called Marvel shows. Thus, I totally got the feel of it, and the intended tonal vision and aesthetic by showrunner Steve […]

Viz, CineLife Signal HUNTER X HUNTER: THE LAST MISSION With An Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

I may get some flack for not being the most knowledgeable anime fan, but that didn’t stop me from catching up big time in 2016. Hunter X Hunter was a huge, surprise stop for me that year in getting familar with one of the most signature, harrowing adventures ever told in anime history, though unfamiliar as I was with the animated side stories and features released in 2013. Thus, we have the latest campaign now underway from Viz Media with the planned theatrical run for Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission, following an announcement last November. Kawaguchi Keiichiro took to the helm for the feature animated adventure that now brings back our quartet of heroic hunters, Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio for an otherwise new adventure finally arriving stateside and on the big screen on January 30. Tickets are now on sale courtesy of CineLife Entertainment, so hit ’em up […]

Review: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016) Brings Ample Balance To An Awakened Force (Reprint)

Lee B. Golden III

I have to credit a large part of my nerdiness to my Dad. I remember my sister and I going over on weekends and he’d have comic books all around the house and a movie collection that could rival no other. Of course he gave us a proper education by having us watch the cult action favorites, new releases, and gems from his ever-growing collection of flicks. I was in elementary school during the time when word had started to circulate that the Star Wars movies were going to get a digital remastering. Mom (the other half of my nerd genes) wanted to make a big event out of it, we were going to go to the Uptown down in Northwest DC to go see it. Dad, upon hearing about this, sat my sister and I down, pulled out the VHS Box set of Episodes 4-6, and we marathoned the […]

WITHOUT REMORSE: Sicario 2 Writer/Director Duo Reteam For John Clark Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

In one of the most brilliant and best moves made in cinema, Paramount is now segueing to prolific screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Hell Or High Water) pen the script for Without Remorse, first on the block for the studio’s two developing Tom Clancy adaptations; the other being Rainbow Six. Creed and Creed 2 star Michael B. Jordan is tapped to star in the film taking the mantle as John Clark, a fixture in seventeen of the late Clancy’s twenty-five “Jack Ryan” novels. Akiva Goldsman is spearheading as the main producer. Per the book description, Clark is the codename adapted by ex-Navy SEAL John Kelly, widowed months earlier from the death of his pregnant wife, now toggling between enemies at home and abroad facing a deadly rescue mission overseas, and avenging the death of a runaway drug mule at the hands of traffickers. The move marks a reunion for Sherdian who […]