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SAKRA Review: Donnie Yen Pulls No Dragon Palms In The New Operatic Wuxia Epic

Sakra opens in select theaters on April 14, and on Digital beginning April 18 from Well Go USA. And the award for Cinematic Action Hero with The Greatest Odds on Shortest End Of The Stick (not a real award) this month goes to Qiao Fong, the folkloric Song Dynasty warrior and the TBA leader of the Beggar’s Sect in Sakra, the new wuxia martial arts opera starring Donnie Yen. Wong Jing sits in alongside our star to produce the pic while it is Yen, who, though long-credited as sharing the helm with Big Brother shepherd Kam Ka-wai, gets full frontal billing on this return to this chair as director. Set at a time of turmoil per the work of late literary legend Jin Yong, Sakra begins with the time-honored tale of a baby left in the care of adopted parents and brought up to become a warrior in the beggar’s […]

AHSOKA: Catch The First Look Trailer For The New Series Starring Rosario Dawson

Lee B. Golden III

Star Wars Celebration Europe is underway and will be running through Monday. That means at least three more days of Lucasfilm/Disney content permeating around a franchise that still bolsters with potential nearly five decades since George Lucas brought it to life. Thus, all past efforts now lead up to actress Rosario Dawson who returns for her stint from The Mandalorian and as character favorite, Ahsoka, for her own television drama following its debut in The Clone Wars animated series. Shepherded by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, the series also stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, with The Mandalorian co-star Diana Lee Inosanto getting in some screentime for her reprisal, and Ray Stevenson (Accident Man, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday) partaking in the galactic calamity in lightsaber-wielding bad guy form. The trailer is now online in light of news pertaining to its cineversal inclusion with at least three more films […]

Cynthia Rothrock, Kurt McKinney and More Join THE LAST KUMITE

Vance Ang

The blockbuster success of Chad Stahelski’s JOHN WICK CHAPTER 4 (2023) is perhaps indicative of the current state of modern cinema. The last decade has been heavily dominated by the superhero genre, with the MCU seemingly replacing the traditional action genre introducing audiences to pre-existing lore – with huge budgets enabling the use of CGI and special effects, designed to WOW the film going public. Yet it might be fair to say that these films may be losing their lustre, with the momentum largely slowing down as the glitzy novelty somewhat fades. Whilst movies like ‘JOHN WICK’ (2014 – 2023) and ‘BULLET TRAIN’ (2022) do utilise special effects, these seemingly evoke the action movies of the bygone era of the 80s and 90s. The action films of the great Sheldon Lettich were vibrant and sexy, championed by the likes of Jean Claude Van Damme. Similarly the Hong Kong action genre […]

Promo: Crank International Action Film Festival Kicks Off Next Weekend!

Lee B. Golden III

I was today years old when I found out that the Crank International Action Film Festival is launching at the Westdale Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario next weekend. It’s gonna have two awesome feature screenings – firstly on Saturday, April 15 with Andrew T. Hunt’s new action drama, The Fight Machine, starring Greg Hovanessian and Dempsey Bryk as two young men on opposite sides of the Canadian border journeying toward self-discovery before meeting their fates head-on in the unforgiving underground bare-knuckle arena. Sunday will see the latest premiere for Ramin Sohrab’s trailblazing Finnish/Iranian action thriller, Layers Of Lies, about a fireman whose retirement is cut short when his wife is kidnapped by an enemy from his past. The festival will close out with a round of eleven shortfilms to bookend things and you can learn more about the inaugural festival here, with tickets also available at EventBrite.

Two Sides Of One Man’s DOUBLE LIFE Join Forces To Catch A Killer In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

The official trailer is live for Double Life, the new action crime thriller from director Martin Wood. The film stars Javicia Leslie, Pascale Hutton, and Vincent Gale, along with Niall Matter, John Cassini, and Carmen Moore. A grieving widow learns from her late husband’s mistress that his death was no accident. The two women will form an unlikely alliance to uncover the truth behind his murder and unmask the man they both loved. Wood directs from a script storied by Mike Hurst who co-wrote with Chris Sivertson. Paramount Movies will release Double Life in theaters and On Digital on May 5, followed by On-Demand beginning May 19.

HUNTING DOGS: Get A First Look At The New Vietnamese Action Thriller Now Campaigning For Investment

Lee B. Golden III

A first look promo is underway for Hunting Dogs, a new action thriller out of Vietnam from former Studio68 exec, Pham Thanh Hai in his latest directorial effort. For this, Hai is also partnering with actor and action performer Ron Smoorenburg who is also joining the film’s cast. The film, by way of translation, is described as the story of a man who entrenches himself as an underground fighter to get back what he lost. The promo also comes subtitled in both English and Vietnamese and should lend some ideas about the overall story, coupled withe imagery of a seedy criminal underworld in which our hero ventures. Par for the course is the film’s introduction of Recharge, a style of action that Smoorenburg has been knocking away at for a while now and he delves a little more into it via the film’s NFT5 campaign page which you can check […]

FIST OF THE CONDOR, YOUNG IP MAN And Donnie Yen’s FIST OF FURY Coming To Hi-YAH! In April

Lee B. Golden III

This week is as good a time as any to remind fans to subscribe to Well Go USA’s genre imprint, Hi-YAH!. The streamer will launch Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s Fist Of The Condor this Friday starring Marko Zaror and Eyal Meyer who have been touring the east coast this week while promoting the film’s Alamo Drafthouse screening events in North America. The streamer will also release Ip Man: Kung Fu Master helmer Li Liming’s Young Ip Man, as well as premiere weekly episodes of ATV Home and STAR Channel’s 1995 televised 30×45 series iteration of “Fist Of Fury” starring Donnie Yen. Watch the company’s new monthly promo below and then head to Hi-YAH! today.

HIGH & LOW: THE WORST X Review: Fisticuffs And Hard-Fought Friendship Lead The Way For Another Supercharged Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

The last eight years or so of thrills from the hive mind at Japanese brand LDH and the writers of HI-AX have brought forth what stands to be one of the best multimedia action franchises ever created, with Shochiku and Netflix raking in much of the earnings. Credit as of late goes to the shared directorial powers of Daisuke Ninomiya and Norihisa Hiranuma, and action stylist Masaki Suzumura with a window of at least three years since Shigeaki Kubo transitioned the High & Low saga into a new era, one led by “The Rampage” members Kazuma Kawamura and Hokuto Yoshino, along with actor and franchise favorite Goki Maeda who now return for their continuation, High & Low: The Worst X. The story reimmerses you once more into long-established pentaterritorial S.W.O.R.D. whose Oya High confab still flexes its best under the otherwise still nascent leadership of the precocious and rambunctious Fujio […]

WAR 2 Adds ‘RRR’ Star NTR Jr.

Lee B. Golden III

Variety’s Naman Ramachandran is reporting the addition of NTR Jr. to the upcoming sequel to Siddharth Anand’s 2019 espionage action thriller, War. The South Indian star of the global success story, S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR, will join returning actor and Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan for the sequel which will be directed by Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva helmer Ayan Mukerji. A trade source told Variety: “NTR Jr is locking horns with Hrithik Roshan in ‘War 2.’ It’s going to be epic. Their battle of wits and their fierce showdown will definitely be an action spectacle to remember on the big screen. This move by Aditya Chopra enables ‘War 2’ to have the widest audience appeal for a Hindi film and it also widens the box office potential of the film. South India should come alive and connect at a more emotional level with the film because of the presence of their […]

COLONIALS: Catch The Trailer For The New Sci-Fi Thriller From Epic Pictures

COLONIALS: Catch Up With A Clip From The New Action Sci-Fi Releasing Friday [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Film Combat Syndicate can share an exclusive clip from Colonials, the new sci-fi thriller starring Greg Kriek, Sean Kanan, Daniel Roebuck, Jon Provost, and Allie Ayers Lindsey. Andrew Balek and Joe Bland directed the pic from a script by Bland and co-scribe Cyrus Cheek. On his mission from Mars, a space colonist’s ship is attacked by a Moon-based civilization and crash lands on Earth. Having lost his memory, he joins forces with the Resistance to save the galaxy from human extinction. Colonials will have a limited theatrical release starting this Friday, followed a digital platform rollout beginning Tuesday April 11 from Epic Pictures Releasing. Check out the clip!

THE SPARRING PARTNER, TOO COOL TO KILL And More As Well Go USA Signals A Quartet Of Digital Releases

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a big week this week for Well Go USA as it oversees Alamo Drafthouse screening events and presentations of its most recent major title, Fist Of The Condor starring Marko Zaror and directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza. For those who follow the brand, the company’s endeavors now extend to Digital releases with Tuesday’s April 4 rollouts of four titles this week. The gallery below the text comes ready with poster, film info and tangible trailer content. Tap the images to expand and scroll down for all details! Well Go USA, the premier distributor for international films, debuts the Chinese crime thriller THE SPARRING PARTNER on Digital April 4, where it will join three other international titles now available via digital platforms for the first time: charming Chinese comedy TOO COOL TO KILL, Greek adventure thriller SHORT FUSE and the Korean court drama HERSTORY, which is based on the story […]

Streaming Sleepers: Wes Chatham Delivers A Knockout In THE PHILLY KID

Lee B. Golden III

Director Jason Connery’s fourth feature came to me as a recommendation years ago from a friend who works in the Thai film industry, and happened to be a fan of Wes Chatham upon seeing 2012 indie action drama, The Philly Kid. I honestly don’t know how the marketing for this particular film was so I can’t really allege anything, but the film was pushed and release in the U.S. at the time from After Dark Action, an imprint of After Dark Films, and I eventually saw it in 2014 on Digital Download. Fast forward nearly a decade later, and the film is currently streaming on Prime, which I thought would make for an ample opportunity to help get some eyes on this particular gem which sees Chatham in the role of Dillon, an ex-champ wrestler now out on parole after a ten-year stint in prison over the accidental death of […]

CAT’S EYES Lands TF1 Live-Action Series Drama For Autumn Shoot

Lee B. Golden III

Alexandre Laurent (“Les Combattantes”, “Le Bazar de la Charité”), is set to adapt Tsukasa Hojo’s “Cat’s Eye” as a live-action series for French network TF1, with co-financing discussions still ongoing. The octet-set series is being written by Michel Catz, Justine Kim-Gautier, Antonin Martin-Hilbert, Anne- Charlotte Kassab, Coline Dussaud and Audrey Gagneux, with Big Band Story (Benjamin Dupont-Jubien and Mehdi Sabbar) producing for the network. Based on Hojo’s 80’s tankobon prints for Shueisha, the new series – dubbed Cat’s Eyes – will trace “back to its roots, and follows the adventures of the three Chamade sisters as they improvise a series of daring heists around the French capital’s most iconic (and security-conscious) monuments” according to a March 30 announcement. More on the series: It’s 2023, and Alexia, Tam and Sylia are reunited in the City of Light after many years apart. At the same time, a work of art that belonged […]

KANDAHAR: Gerard Butler Is Trapped Behind Enemy Lines In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Ric Roman Waugh’s new actioner, Kandahar, is out and about on Tuesday with a brand new trailer as the film inches closer to its May 26 release. The pic hails from Open Road Films and stars Gerard Butler, Navid Negahban, Ali Fazal, Travis Fimmel and Elnaaz Norouzi. Tom Harris (Gerard Butler), an undercover CIA operative, is stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan. After his mission is exposed, he must fight his way out, alongside his Afghan translator, to an extraction point in Kandahar, all whilst avoiding elite enemy forces and foreign spies tasked with hunting them down.

HEAT 2 In The Works At Warner Bros. Pictures

Lee B. Golden III

Word via Deadline’s Justin Kroll on Monday came that a follow-up to Michael Mann’s epic 1995 crime thriller, Heat, is in the works at Warner Bros. Pictures. What’s more, actor Adam Driver (65) is in talks to star in the film as a young version of Neil McCauley with Mann in negotiations with the studio to direct, and with Arnon Milchan’s New Regency optioning to board the film when it “is in a good place to move forward”. Robert DeNiro played professional thief McCauley in the inaugural film opposite Al Pacino’s ex-marine now LA detective Vincent Hanna. Mann worked on the film for well over a decade before finally landing a project at WB with producer Art Linson, which became a box office hit and a landmark success for Mann’s filmography. Mann eventually segued into prequel/sequel territory with a novel released last year while developing a feature continuation. More from […]

WAR 2: Hrithik Roshan To Return To YRF’s Explosive Spy Franchise For ‘Brahmastra’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe will expand even further with the announcement of War 2, according to a report on Tuesday by Variety’s Naman Ramachandran. The film will be directed by Ayan Mukerji who takes the reins from Siddharth Anand who directed the inaugural 2019 film that featured Bollywood topliners Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, with Roshan now set to return for the second chapter. As the lore has it, the YRF Spy Universe hails from producer Aditya Chopra and is a sprawling web of action-packed stories of espionage centered on Indian foreign intelligence agents battling dastardly terrorists in the face of betrayal, romantic intrigue, and surmounting odds, topped with the usual winsome musical numbers and striking action and stunt sequences. The tapestry first began in 2012 with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif headlining Kabbir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, followed by Ali Abbas Zafar’s Tiger Zinda Hai in 2017, with […]

BORN TO FLY Spreads Its Wings In U.S. Theaters This Month From Well Go USA

Lee B. Golden III

Patrick Brzeski’s December reporting over at THR should provide some insight regarding director Liu Xiaoshi’s latest air force thriller, Born To Fly. At any rate, it’s Well Go USA who will be in the cockpit for China’s answer to Top Gun: Maverick as it stars Wang Yibo who co-leads the banner’s recently-released brooding political war thriller, Hidden Blade, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. After an unforeseen threat arises mid-air, a talented young air force test pilot (WANG Yibo) is forced to test not only the capabilities of his top-secret aircraft, but also his own physical and psychological limits, in order to survive. Also starring are Hu Jun, Yu Shi and Zhou Dongyu for the film’s April 28 release in the U.S..

HYPNOTIC Trailer: Don’t Be Fooled!

Lee B. Golden III

It wouldn’t be until after Robert Rodriguez’s WIP screening at SXSW that his newest psychological thriller, Hypnotic, would land a distributor and release date for May 12. That update now comes with an official trailer via Ketchup Entertainment which you can view below with Ben Affleck starring from a script by Rodriguez and co-writer Max Borenstein. Determined to find his missing daughter, Austin detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) instead finds himself spiraling down a rabbit hole while investigating a series of reality-bending bank robberies where he will ultimately call into question his most basic assumptions about everything and everyone in his world. Aided by Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), an unnervingly gifted psychic, Rourke simultaneously pursues and is pursued by a lethal specter (William Fichtner) – the one man he believes holds the key to finding the missing girl – only to discover more than he ever bargained for.

STREET FIGHTER: Legendary, Capcom Partner For New Feature Adaptation Of Hit Fighting Game

Lee B. Golden III

Trade news sources all reported on Monday that a new Street Fighter film is now in development. Via The Wrap, “exclusive license” has gone to Legendary Entertainment who are shepherding the film with Capcom. Story, plot and casting details are all unknown for the film which now adds to the monumentally successful franchise based on Capcom’s line of hit fighting video games which launched in 1987, spawning a wave of other trendy fighting games that arose in subsequent years. Apart from the original video animations that emerged, live-action adaptations were made and released in 1994 by director Steven E. de Souza (Universal Pictures’ Street Fighter), and in 2009 by Andrzej Bartkowiak (20th Century Fox’s Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li), and then in 2016 by actor and filmmaker Joey Ansah (Machinima’s Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist). I’ll leave you my thoughts on the latter installment in the Instagram embed below, but […]

BLUE BEETLE Teaser: Xolo Maridueña Suits Up For WB/DC’s Next Chapter

Lee B. Golden III

Life after The Flash will be an interesting phase to observe for fans of the DC comic brand following several years of Snyderverse upheaval and exclamatory studio goings-on at the now-fledged WB Discovery. With the Andy Muschietti-directed chapter setting the stage for things to segue into the Gunn/Safran era, it’s anyone’s guess now where Warner Bros. Pictures’ Blue Bettle falls in the scheme of things, but the first trailer is now online and dares to impress, with Cobra Kai series regular Xolo Maridueña headlining the character’s debut presentation on the big screen. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses […]