filmcombatsyndicate.com

XYZ Films Picks Up Cambodian Martial Arts Comedy, JAILBREAK

It was only a matter of time before we heard more from the happenings over at Kongchak Pictures who have been hitting the festival pavement this year for the new action comedy, Jailbreak. The film, directed by Jimmy Henderson and produced by Loy Te, made waves over at Hong Kong FilMart where it nabbed distribution in Korea following its local Cambodian release in January, and has since screened for attendees at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy in the past week. The film stars martial arts exponents, actors Jean-Paul Ly, Dara Our and actress Tharothoum Sam, actor Savin Philip and debut feature film actress Céline Tran in the story of a tactical police escort unit who find themselves trapped inside a prison and forced to protect a notorious key witness from the deadly onslaught of inmates and the murderous Butterfly Gang who have descended from outside. Featuring action […]

GEMINI MAN Courts Will Smith To Star

Lee B. Golden III

Darren Lemke’s pitch for assassin thriller, Gemini Man has been in a development slump for twenty years before news finally picked up last Friday. Thus, with the film ultimately landing at Skydance and acclaimed director Ang Lee possibly game to helm the pic, it looks like the film could have its star. Leave that for actor Will Smith to decide per the latest report from THR as he’s being courted to play an aging assassin forced back in the game when he’s pitted against a version of himself 25 years younger and in his prime. The studio is much more keen on the film’s possibility through the advancement of technology used to replicate actor’s faces as seen in films like Captain America: Civil War and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Lee will be joined by Jerry Bruckheimer who will produce with Don Murphy executive producing. Smith, in the wake of […]

Well Go USA Announces Its Summer Rollout For Ringo Lam’s SKY ON FIRE

Lee B. Golden III

Following their announcement of Dante Lam’s 2016 hit film, Operation Mekong, U.S. distributor Well Go USA is also announcing their presentation of Ringo Lam’s latest, Sky On Fire. This one had its share of mixed reactions upon its release last November but still bodes as a fan favorite for those keen on actor Daniel Wu who leads the film on top of his current momentum on the small screen. The official artwork can be seen below as well as the announcement. Watch this space for pre-order information. Legendary filmmaker Ringo Lam (City on Fire, Full Alert) returns to his Hong Kong roots with SKY ON FIRE, the explosive crime drama packed with high-speed car chases, dramatic plot twists and fiery gunfights. The film also marks Daniel Wu’s return to Asian cinema following his stateside success on the TV series “Into the Badlands” and the international blockbuster Warcraft: The Beginning. Wu […]

Check Out Two Cannes Promos For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL

Lee B. Golden III

I suppose what bugs me most is that there’s yet to be any decent poster art going online except for the same mobile viewing of the official home webpage for Miike Takashi’s Blade Of The Immortal. The trailers and TV spots have all proven awesome though as the film looks amply solid as one might hope, and especially thanks in part to J-rocker MIYAVI’s added touch. As such, Cannes attendees can expect to catch the film next month for its forthcoming out-of-competition screening, as posed by Warner Bros. Japan with two short TV promos for the film which opens this Friday. The film is inspired by Samura Hiroaki’s famed manga with Kimura Takuya and Sugisaki Hana leading the tale of a martial arts school heiress and her quest for vengeance with the help of an afflicted, immortal samurai with his own intentions. CJ Entertainment, who was also reportedly involved in […]

Back INTO THE BADLANDS We Go In 2018!

Lee B. Golden III

The season two premiere of the hit AMC Network series, Into The Badlands, was a homerun hit becoming the #1 returning show thusfar with 4.5 million viewers back in March. It’s a milestone well-deserved after launching its six episode run back in 2015 from creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, and with ratings otherwise holding steady, much to the delight of fans, the show is officially poised for another round of epic drama and martial arts action. Per the announcement: Midway through its current second season, “Into the Badlands” is averaging 3.6 million viewers per episode, including 2.1 million adults 25-54 in Nielsen Live+3 ratings. In the current television season, the series ranks as the #4 scripted drama on cable and the #4 returning drama, behind “The Walking Dead,” “American Horror Story” and “Fear the Walking Dead.” “‘Into the Badlands’ looks like nothing else on television, a literal high-wire act […]

Peep The International Artwork For Jung Byoung-Gil’s New Action Thriller, THE VILLAINESS

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Kim Ok-Vin is currently poised to claim her spotlight at Cannes next month. Styled somewhat in the vein of La Femme Nikita, her newest starring venture, The Villainess, is well on the way toward a Midnight screening in May following its announcement earlier this month and with her own hapkido and taekwondo training in mind, a role well-suited in the hands of Confession Of Murder helmer, Seoul Action School’s own Jung Byoung-Gil. Sook-hee, who was raised as a killer, has her revenge on unidentified men who murdered her husband. However, as she exits, she loses her consciousness and is brought to National Intelligence Service. NIS suggests her to live as a secret agent with new identity as Yeon-soo for confidential missions. At first, she refuses but as she notices her pregnancy, she decides to take the job. She gets fond of her new life as she meets Hyun-soo and dreams of forming […]

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE Ups The Ante In The First Official Teaser Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Following suit from its graphic novel roots in 2015, Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service offered a feasible entrée of stimulating spy lore with actor Taron Egerton front and center. It piled on with all sorts of secret agent tropes and wit, intrigue, comedy and mystery, bookended by solid action and with one of the most memorable displays of violent cinematic action one could endulge. We also got characters we could sympathize with, further drawing in the interest of where our story would go for those of us unengaged with the initial source material. Well, in the good standing of fans and with the intention to selling the hell out of tickets come this Fall, our select cast members have returned with a roster of new faces for Vaughn’s latest sequel offering with Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and the first official teaser trailer is here as of late Monday. “Kingsman: […]

AJIN: DEMI-HUMAN: Satoh Takeru Awakens To Terror In The First Action-Packed Teaser For The Live-Action Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Sakurai Gaimon’s 2012 sci-fi action horror manga publication, Ajin: Demi Human, has a lot to its current story arsenal. How Bayside Shakedown film series and Shaolin Girl helmer Motohiro Katsuyuki is weaving it all together for its forthcoming feature film adaptation remains to be seen but right now, the teaser is something that needs to be seen to be believed, because it’s looks too awesome. For the unengaged, however, take into mind the presence of actor Satoh Takeru, known prolifically for helping bring to life Otomo Keishi’s Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, now staking his claim as medical intern Nagai Kei, who is stricken by a car and presumably killed until he wakes up almost immediately and discovers himself to be one of many unknown hosts of an inexplicable translucent entity known as Ajin, mysterious creatures who have already made grim headlines around the world. Imbued with untested, supernatural abilities – including […]

THE HIT LIST: April 24, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

Well, I spent most of my weekend relaxing as much as possible after covering what I could on Saturday. That includes my second interview with actor/producer/director Alexander Nevsky which you can check out here… …on top of covering this week’s picks and entries for the Hit List now online and ready to go with a stunt reel playlist that brings us Luis Vallardes, John Cihangir, Amanda Voll, Don Gough, Jonathan Nickerson, Kyle Glenn, Ellette Craddock, Hans Marrero and an updated new stunt reel by Patrick King. Rounding out thd playlist is actor and martial artist, the one and only Gary Daniels with a tribute reel from last month by Tony Coates! There isn’t much to tease this week except two items: First, we now have an image which you can view below courtesy of filmmaker Trent Dickens, hard at work with the current production of crowdfunded shortfilm, Panda – basically […]

OPERATION MEKONG Announces Its U.S. Summer Release!

Lee B. Golden III

Acclaimed director Dante Lam’s 2016 action thriller, Operation Mekong, was not without it’s share of interesting dialogue regarding its subject matter. Its ripped-from-the-headlines narrative centered on the 2011 incident that occurred along the Mekong river involving a criminal drug ring in Myanmar, otherwose serving as the premise for another hopeful entertaining hit at the box office. And so it was as it became one of the highest grossing films in China at the time, and with North America in its sites, the film has officially landed at its new home at Well Go USA. Release dates are announced for May 2 on Digital HD, and on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack & DVD on June 6 with the artwork seen just below. Amazon.com already had pre-orders up and running so have at it! PLANO, TEXAS. (April 24, 2017) – “… for action film buffs, Christmas has come early” (Edmund Lee, South China […]

Untitled Statham/Chasman Action Project Gets A Title

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a year and a half since we last heard on action star Jason Statham’s prior attachment to a Hong Kong action film project. Given whatever may likely have changed or still may, gladly it still appears to be active by way of Road Pictures’s newly announced production slate which lists a variety of titles in different genres slated for televised and theatrical production and release according to Screendaily. That report now includes Straw, the title of said thriller currently being scripted by Kurt Wimmer which last had Statham written to play an ex-pat in Hong Kong joined by a female high-level Chinese operative to solve a kidnapping case with global implications. Statham and Chasman are still reportedly producing through their SJ banner with Road also involved. Production was set for last Fall but should likely advance with the title still in circulation in the news. At any rate, fans still […]

Sono Sion’s TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL To Unleash Hell This Summer For Amazon Prime In Japan

Lee B. Golden III

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in Japan can set the date for June 16 when intriguing film favorite, Why Don’t You Play In Hell? and Tokyo Tribe helmer Sono Sion’s latest original serial offering, Tokyo Vampire Hotel is broadcast live with all nine episodes. The official trailer also went live on Sunday which you can view just above and with its virility, the reactions online thusfar seem to be greatly approving. The series follows Sono’s protégé, actress Tomite Ami in the role of Manami, a young woman targeted amid Earth’s takeover of the evil Corvin vampire tribe on the eve of her 22nd birthday. Upon her rescue by a mysterious and extraordinary heroine named K (Kaho) and with mankind’s destruction looming, the epic story continues with a ragtag grouping of young men and women, some on a dating retreat, now trapped inside the lush Hotel Requiem whose eerie management promise safe […]

THE MAJOR SALUTES: Catching Up With Actor And Filmmaker Alexander Nevsky

Lee B. Golden III

In case you’re just tuning in, I’ve kind of been on a roll in the past week or more with interviews and largely due to the cast of the upcoming crime thriller, Black Rose. With the film less than a week away from its release, I’ve interviewed co-stars Matthias Hues and Kristanna Loken, and as of today, a new interview with its star and director, Alexander Nevsky in this following our interview last year in January. He’s got more films lined up and he discusses them accordingly as well in the text beneath, in addition to plans for a new book now well on the way to publication for health and fitness aficionados. Interestingly, he also hints at some possible prospects for the character he plays and that of others in the murder mystery millieu within Black Rose; you can read our latest review by clicking here while I humbly invite you to […]

GINTAMA Teases Origins, Heroes And Villains In A Brand New Live-Action Movie Teaser!

Lee B. Golden III

Warner Bros. Japan has had quite the full plate on its hands with several adaptations this year, one such being the upcoming release of director Fukuda Yuichi’s treatment of Sorachi Hideaki’s popular manga property, Gintama. If you’re not at all familiar with the Shonen Jump publication, it does comes highly recommended by fans and especially those keen on the current-running anime who are now waiting the upcoming final season. With that in mind, we now have our aforementioned Hentai Kamen 1 and 2 helmer’s take om the property which has actor Oguri Shun spearheading our wacky sci-fi period action comedy set in an alternate Edo period in Japan where aliens have colonized, the samurai are obsolete, and extremist forces await their chance to seize control. For this, the latest short teaser has arrived with ample new footage following the first in December, further iterating the events from the top of […]

Today In Required Viewing…

Lee B. Golden III

….This handshake. New movementA post shared by Chen Tiger (@tigerchenhu) on Apr 22, 2017 at 5:51am PDT …This, on the set of Jesse Johnson’s new movie, Triple Threat. Revel in it, kids!

The Last Four Of James Cameron’s AVATAR Pentalogy Land Four Official Release Dates Starting In 2020

Lee B. Golden III

Imagine a sequel so epic that it took more than a decade to make happen… …If you’re thinking Universal Soldier: Regeneration, I like how your mind works. This bit of filmlore, however, goes in the direction of fantasy visionary James Cameron in the wake of his 2009 action adventure, Avatar, a film so nice it was released twice and with earnings of up to nearly $2.8 billion dollars. That’s a fat chunk of change for 20th Century Fox and I’m sure they’re more than grateful at this juncture, and even moreso determined to make the next four movies the best of the bunch. And even better, they all now all have dates courtesy of the latest official Facebook update! Great to be working with the best team in the business! Avatar takes flight as we begin concurrent production on four sequels. The journey continues December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, […]

DEADPOOL 2 Gets A Summer Production Start And Release Date

Lee B. Golden III

Hopefully mercenary and box office smash hit super merc Wade Wilson remembered to turn the stove off before getting all Hollywood on us. In the meantime, it’s taken a bit of time for the upcoming titular sequel of Wade’s crime humpimg fighting adventures as Deadpool to staple a release date and start date, and on Saturday, 20th Century Fox changed all that, and then some. This summer will mark the principal start in Vancouver for Deadpool 2 as cameras roll with actor Ryan Reynolds back in the tactical red supersuit for a release date now set for June 1, 2018. Joining Reynolds thusfar is actress Zazie Beetz as luck-bending femme fatale Domino and the Marvel MCU’s current Thanos, actor Josh Brolin now time traveling as enhanced supersoldier Cable following a long and contentious casting process among others that led to Deadpool helmer Tim Miller’s departure late last year. Actresses Leslie Uggams and […]

Mike Colter Lands Mystery Role In Michael Peña Sci-Fi, EXTINCTION

Lee B. Golden III

Luke Cage frontman, actor Mike Colter is just months away from his ensemble appearance with the cast of Marvel’s The Defenders in August on Netflix. In the meantime, expect to hear further on his latest addition as an undisclosed character on the upcoming sci-fi thriller, Extinction. He and actress Lizzie Caplan will be joined and led by actor Michael Peña who will play a man who discovers a unique strength to protect his family in the wake of a brutal invasion that threatens to make his worst nightmares come true. Ben Young, whose 2016 crime pic, Hounds Of Love, became a festival favorite in Venice that year, is directing from a script by Spenser Cohen, Brad Caleb Kane and Arrival scribe Eric Heisserer. Mandeville’s Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman are producing the film with Alexander Young executive producing next to Nathan Kahane and Joe Drake from Good Universe, and Erin Westerman […]

FURY OF THE DRAGON Spawns Retribution In The First Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Currently stemming from Florida’s independent film scene is Victor Rios with his directorial debut, Fury Of The Dragon. Rios helms from the creative auspices of 333 Pictures and Frank Films, and cinematographer Armin Alic who co-helmed the 2015 indie action thriller, Room 236., and with a cast that brings actor Lilo Brancato and Wade Williams to the forefront of the tale of a mysterious vigilante on the streets of America and a detective who may or may not be out to stop him. The film is currently in production with plans currently set for its own trilogy and it’s early days at the moment. In the meantime, peep the teaser below and stay tuned for more info as it arises.

ACCIDENT MAN: Scott Adkins Dodges Danger In The First Official Photo

Lee B. Golden III

Martial arts action star Scott Adkins is currently treading the streets of Thailand as one of the key antagonists on the set of Jesse Johnson’s ensemble action thriller, Triple Threat. In the meantime, post production is already underway for the previous completion from the duo with an adaptation of British comic book thriller, Accident Man which Adkins also produces. On Saturday, Adkins took to social media to unveil the first official still from the production which takes its cues from creators Pat Mills and Tony Skinner whose once popular Toxic! publication manifests the story of an assassin who disguises his hit jobs as everyday, ordinary accidents. Adkins himself described the film as a dream project from the age of fifteen, telling followers, “I fell in love with the comic book, always knew it would be an amazing movie. I co-wrote, produced and of course star and I am very, very […]