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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3 Lands Itself The Writer/Director You Were Hoping It Would Be

I suppose it was inevitable for some while others like myself didn’t have much intuition on it. I know I’m no clarvoiant enough to have a huge instinct about comic book news since often at times studios and people involved are quick to deny something whether or not it gets traction. This also goes for the prospects of Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3, which has had its share of time in the rumor mill and once thought not to be a thing, until filmmaker James Gunn confirmed it last month while doing press for Greg McLean’s The Belko Experiment which Gunn wrote and also produced. As for whether or not he would return to write and direct for a third outing remained to be seen since then while we can now report that Gunn has also asserted he will return to spearhead the trilogy as so. He wrote his […]

WORKING IN ACTION, LIVING IN PEACE: An Interview With Actor Matthias Hues

Lee B. Golden III

One of the biggest aspects of operating my site has been earning the opportunity to trade some Q&A jabs with actors I never once in a million years would have thought I would be in touch with. Looking at actor Matthias Hues, really he has to be one of the few people in my purview whose career dates back to a tine when movies arrived on VHS and had to be rewound, which really makes sharing conversational space in this capacity quite the honor. I’ve grown up watching Hues as part of my thriving childhood with film, my first experience being watching him go toe-to-toe with Dolph Lundgren in Craig Baxley’s 1990 sci-fi action thriller, I Come In Peace (a.k.a. Dark Angel) It’s one of the most thrilling and memorable moments of the halcyon days of American action filmlore and I never really thought about the prospects of a sequel […]

NEGATIVE Throat Punches First And Asks Questions Later The First Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Producer and director Joshua Caldwell’s latest espionage action thriller, Negative, has Bourne written all over it with actress Katia Winter leading the way from a script by Adam Gaines. Simon Quarterman also stars in the film for its forthcoming world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival and while we await some acquisition and release news, the latest official trailer and poster have already begun making the rounds. After he takes a picture of a random young woman on the street, amateur photographer Hollis is shocked when she knocks on his apartment door and threatens his life. Urgently demanding that he and the photograph must leave town with her or she will have to kill him, Hollis reluctantly obliges. While on the run, she reveals that her name is Natalie and she’s an ex-MI5 agent on the run from the Colombian Cartel members that she double-crossed. Just as she was […]

Review: GIRL FIGHT: A MUAY THAI STORY Casts A Ringside Glimmer Of Truth Beyond Victory And Defeat

Lee B. Golden III

It was late last year that I was introduced to the work of documentarian and filmmaker Matthew Kaplowitz (a.k.a. The Fight Nerd) who at one point drew an interest in New York City’s stunt community surrounding the inner workings of Stephen Koepfer at Breakfall Studios. That pivot resulted into research offering a 30-minute glimpse into the life and effort of stunt performers along the northeast in what became Concrete And Crashpads: Stunts In New York, which was feasible for me since I largely cover movies from an angle focused on the world of stunt performance…whereas sports is a different ball park for me. I don’t normally watch competitive mixed martial arts fights on TV – not usually interested although I dabble from time to time just to say that I watched a sport; My father is an absolute football fan and when the season starts, an alien armada could […]

Review: BLACK ROSE Flourishes With Murder Mystery Thrills And Stateside Filmic Appeal

Lee B. Golden III

The last several years have been tremendous brain food for me in learning about various filmmakers from around the world and even getting acquainted with some of them in the process. They’ve all been delightful surprises in some degree or another, much like multifaceted Russian bodybuilding exponent, actor and producer Alexander Nevsky who has kept himself weighing in frequently as the latest in action stardom in his own making for close to two decades. His latest brings us to his directorial inaugration, Black Rose, for a familiar, albeit doable murder mystery narrative that largely functions as you would hope. The film doesn’t waste time identifying itself as you are instantly immersed into a world where a presumably Russian serial killer is on the loose in Hollywood, stalking women, torturing and murdering them, and then leaving cryptic notes and black roses with their corpses. Lead detective Matt (Adrian Paul) is running […]

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Sports An All-Too Familiar-Looking Poster

Lee B. Golden III

I don’t think anyone generally knew that the marketing for director Patrick Hughes’s latest action thriller, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, was going to be such a hilarious pisstake. Given the latest official artwork debut however, it appears they’re not kidding. Indeed, we have Samuel L. Jackson holding onto Ryan Reynolds for dear life as the story follows the world’s top protection agent assigned to guard his worst enemy, the world’s deadliest assassin from attempts on his life by a powerful dictator, played by Gary Oldman. Also starring is actress Salma Hayek along with Elodie Yung and others for its August 18 release and while we’ve yet to learn anymore about the film, I think the first NSFW trailer from Wednesday states the film’s case just fine… this one is gonna be too much fun. Peep the ink below!

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI: Luke Teases The End Of An Era In The First Official Teaser!

Lee B. Golden III

Leaving all sorts of questions in its wake on top of its huge box office success, the events seen in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens now get their hotly anticipated continuation in the upcoming eighth canon installation, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The official trailer and poster premiered during Star Wars Celebration with director Rian Johnson, cast members in attendance. Next to the new additions of Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, and actress Kelly Marie Tran who also joined in on the events on Friday, of course there’s question about who will return and who likely won’t. And for that matter, it’s a film that is sure to pay plenty of homage to the icons of its franchise, both living and departed. Check out the teaser trailer now ahead of the film’s December 15 release!

Review: INDIE GUYS (2016) Delivers The Cinematic Love/Hate Relationship You Crave

Lee B. Golden III

I have to credit my latest interview subject, actor and rising star José Manuel, whose own career progression has been much more mobile than I imagined over the past several years. At some point back then, it appears his journey landed him somewhere in Wisconsin and in the throes of writing/directing duo, actors Jarrod Crooks and Greg Kuper, leaving in their wake what I think is one of the most discernible odes to cinema and the love of cinema to date. Indie Guys presents a hilarious, healthy and hearty mix of mumblecore comedy and drama at the forefront of our tale telling of local indie filmmakers Ian (Crooks) and Gordon (Kuper) as they struggle to complete their newest and most ambitious action movie with only a skeleton crew and, much to their chagrin, no money. From bizzare auditions and casting near-complete strangers at the last minute to creative differences that threaten […]

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Taraji P. Henson Leads Babak Najafi’s New Action Thriller, PROUD MARY, Now Filming

Lee B. Golden III

Golden Globe winning actress Taraji P. Henson (TV series Empire, Hidden Figures, Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is ready to increase the bodycount following her addition to the new action thriller, Proud Mary, back in January. Screen Gems has officially announced the film with cameras rolling on Thursday seating London Has Fallen helmer Babak Najafi in the director’s chair, and filming locations slated for Boston and surrounding Massachusetts cities through May. John Stuart Newman (Dirty Work) and Christian Swegal (Stasis) provided the screenplay which has Henson adding an indelible portrayal as the fierce and beautiful Mary – a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad. Further casting by Nancy Nayor enlists Jahi Di’Allo Winston (Feed The Beast) as Danny, a streetwise kid unaware of what […]

Dolph Lundgren Nabs AQUAMAN Role

Lee B. Golden III

Action star Dolph Lundgren’s return to the big screen is probably one of the biggest news bits to arrive this week, and as of Wednesday with director James Wan set to begin production in Australia this May for Aquaman. The Jason Momoa starrer will see Lundgren starring as King Nereus of the aquatic kingdom of Xebel who stands as a romantic rival in competition for the affections of our title hero’s love interest, Mera, played by Amber Heard. Rounding out the cast are Nicole Kidman as Aquaman’s mother, Aquaman’s antagonist half-brother, Orm played by Patrick Wilson as Orm, Willem Dafoe in the supporting role of Dr. Vulko, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the villainous Black Manta, with Temuera Morrison starring as Aquaman’s father. The DC Comics adaptation from Warner Bros. Pictures is slated for release on December 21, 2018 following the character’s ensemble outing in Zack Snyder’s Justice League this […]

WARRIORS OF THE DAWN Sets The Stage For Battle In The First Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

The title appears to be subject to further change but 20th Century Fox Korea is bookmarking their latest period epic, Jeong Yoon-Chul’s Warriors Of The Dawn (formerly The Proxy Soldiers) with gritty action and drama now visbile in the first trailer this week. For this, we have actor Lee Jung-Jae leading the 1592-set tale about an intermediate army of mercenaries assigned to escort the King’s son on a perilous joruney that could determine the fate of the country. To avoid invading Japanese forces, King Seonjo leaves for the Ming dynasty and abandons his people in the process. In his place, Prince Gwanghae leads the royal court. Meanwhile, To-Woo leads the Daerib forces that consist of those who are paid to serve in the military on behalf of others. Lee is joined by actor Yeo Jin-Goo in the role of the prince with Kim Mu Yeol, Bae Soo-Bin, Park Won-Sang and actress Lee […]

Cinedigm Nabs Rights To Air IP MAN TV Series In Select English Language Territories Starring Kevin Cheng

Lee B. Golden III

TVB 2008 saw the emergence of a bolstering film franchise in the making with absolute starpower in the form of Ip Man‘s iconic portrayal of late Wing Chun grandmaster by actor Donnie Yen. As of next year, that count is expected to increase with up to four movies and a box office gross of over $250 million dollars in its wake, and with rumors swarming about action star Jackie Chan possibly getting attached to the pic, the fan fervor is far from over. With this, it’s been an electric period for martial arts fandom in the past nine years with Yen just the first of several actors thereafter to stake their claim in various other film or television properties. Acclaimed actor Anthony Wong sought to his own iteration in Herman Yau’s Ip Man: The Final Fight, preceded a month earlier by actor and singer Kevin Cheng lending his own gravitas […]

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Targets The Deadpool Fanbase In The Restricted First Trailer For The Ryan Reynolds Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Patrick Hughes gets it. Sure, The Expendables 3 may have been a measurable misfire, but judging by the first trailer for his latest endeavor, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, you get the feeling you’re on familiar territory and especially after taking in so much of actor Ryan Reynolds through all of the Deadpool fan fervor. It’s a good move. A smart move, and right next to casting Samuel L. Jackson to keep the buddy formula going, the film looks nothing short of the very promise we missed out on three years earlier. The world’s top protection agent [Ryan Reynolds] is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen [Samuel L. Jackson]. The relentless bodyguard and manipulative assassin have been on the opposite end of the bullet for years and are thrown together for a wildly outrageous 24 hours. During their raucous and hilarious […]

Universal, Will Packer Set Historic African Period Epic, WARRIOR QUEEN, In Development

Lee B. Golden III

Moviegoers pining for more diversity in film will be pleased to see Universal Pictures stepping in with their latest acquisition, Warrior Queen. As Deadline reports, Will Packer will produce the film through his Will Packer Productions banner with James Lopez producing and Universal Pictures VP Sara Scott overseeing. Mighty Joe Young (1998) and Planet Of The Apes (2001) scribe Mark Rosenthal’s script takes its cues from the noted historic tale of Amanirenas, the legendary Meroitic era Nubian queen of the Kingdom of Kush who successfully led her army against the Roman empire and forced them to withdraw and negotiate peace. The film will mark the latets pairing for Packer and Rosenthal following their work on the Roots remake for the History Channel. Packer’s credits further include thrillers such as No Good Deed and upcoming titles such as Malcolm D. Lee’s Girls Trip and a remake of Jacob’s Ladder […]

Kubota Masataka Dons The Mask In The First TOKYO GHOUL Live Action Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Morita Shuhei’s animated treatments of Ishida Sui’s 2011 horror manga, Toyko Ghoul, currently remains on my wishlist of titles to catch up on. I’m drawn to it as it is given the premise as it centers on a young university student whose near-fatal chance encounter with a flesh-eating ghoul sets off a chain of events that begin to consume him into life as a half-human ghoul himself among other ghouls in secret from human society. I look forward to sinking my teeth into the series at any rate while Japan distributor Shochiku has since granted moviegoers a first teaser trailer for Anniversary helmer Hagiwara Kentaro’s sophomore outing adapting the film for release in July. Actor Kubota Masataka (13 Assassins, The Last Cop: The Movie) stars as our coming-of-age ghoul struggling to cope with his newfound life, next to actress Shimizu Fumika in the wake of a controversial retirement from acting […]

BROTHERHOOD OF BLADES 2 Scores A First Teaser For Lu Yang’s Wuxia Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

Lu Yang’s late Ming Dynasty-set heroic bloodshed epic, Brotherhood Of Blades, was a genuine thrill in most of its aspects, telling of a trio of swordsman find themselves in a precarious situation when they’re assigned to eliminate the former head of the imperial court. It became a critical and commerical hit and even earned Taiwan’s Golden Horse Award for Best Make-Up and Costume Design in 2014 with plans for a second offering underway thereafter. Thus, we now get a glimpse of the spectacle that awaits in Brotherhood Of Blades 2 with Yang directing once more and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen reprising his role from the first film next to upcoming Reset star, actress Yang Mi. The story now sees our returning protagonist embroiled in a conspiracy while investigating a case, pitting him in a race against time to help clear his name with the help of another female warrior. Actor […]

DEADPOOL 2 Casts Josh Brolin As Cable

Lee B. Golden III

Well it won’t be Michael Shannon, Pierce Brosnan, David Harbour or Stephen Lang or any of the seasoned thesps you or I might have expected to see nab the role of futuristic time traveling supersoldier, Cable for Deadpool 2 at 20th Century Fox. Nope, indeed its been months and weeks with casting heavily underway and now, the title goes to actor Josh Brolin as per the exclusive this week at THR with a production start now being set for June in Vancouver. Cable first launched onto the Marvel pages in 1986 and whose personality traits are considered to be the opposite of our titular hero. In the comics he shares lineage as the son of X-Men member Cyclops, and also bares techno-organic bodyparts that each host his enhanced vision through his left eye with infrared capabilites, superior strength and fighting prowess, as well as allow him to hack into various […]

ESCAPE PLAN 3 In The Works As Sequel Nears Completion

Lee B. Golden III

Facebook The baffling nature behind actor Sylvester Stallone’s departure from franchises like Rambo and The Expendables is still something of a mystery. In the meantime, it’s become clearer and clearer that he’s ready to devote his time to the current potential now thriving in the upcoming sequel to Mikael Hafstrom’s Escape Plan which currently has Extraction helmer Steven C. Miller directing. Thus, follow Stallone on social media enough and you might be keen on any number of update which have so far included a teeny bit of teaser footage from the movie featuring Stallone and actor Dave Bautista, as well as shots at a robot like fixture on the set emulating what appears to be some form of A.I.. Actress Jamie Bell and reprising actor Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson also star in the film as do The Philly Kid star Wes Chatham and Ip Man 2 co-star Huang Xiaoming for […]

Optimus Prime Makes A Dark Deal In The Newest TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

There’s plenty to take issue with when it comes to anything live-action and Transformer movie-related. Granted however, each of them guarantee a good time at the movies in some capacity and one can certainly have hoped that the franchise in its current growth would reconfigure some of its faults and flaws with each installment. Surely enough that extends to Transformers: The Last Knight ahead of its release this July and a brand new trailer arrived on Wednesday leaving plenty of footage to fawn over in its wake next to that of others. Mark Wahlberg is back and battling the giant robot aliens with Earth even worse off than in previous installments and there are more movies in store after this, too, so one wonders just where this will go. In the meantime, no, I’m not hugely familiar with the IP so the shots here in the trailer with our aliens […]

SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK Announced For Live-Action Adaptation From Film World Stuidos

Lee B. Golden III

Fans of the long-standing manga/anime property, Space Pirate Captain Harlock may be delighted with news of a new live-action film being officially announced by Film World Studios following a series of week-long teasers. The news comes reportedly after less than a year since Japanese retailer Manga Zenkan upon their rollout of the “complete edition” of the manga, otherwise hinting at a live-action Italian and Hollywood film adaptation in the works at the time. Film World Studios presented an early trailer of sorts to help stir the pot some, along with the following text which can be read at their official website in several languages, including Chinese, Japanese and French: Hello everyone, “Film World Studios, llc” is extremely proud and privileged to announce the acquisition of the live action rights of Leiji Matsumoto’s comic book “Space Pirate Captain Harlock”. (Not to be confused with the TOEI Animation series of the same […]