netflix

THE MAN WHO FEELS NO PAIN Arrives On Netflix May 22

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a real fiasco sometimes waiting to see when and where some films will get a legitimate release. Peddlers helmer Vasan Bala’s acclaimed martial arts comedy, The Man Who Feels No Pain, fits right into this subject matter after screening to some of the biggest critical praise I’ve ever read about for a film of its kind since its screenings in Toronto and Mumbai last year. The film just made the festival rounds at the Dallas Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival and will finally hit Netflix on May 22. It’s a pretty big deal on top of being some of the best news to learn during what has been a great month for global action cinema, especially in the wake of such hits like Frant Gwo’s The Wandering Earth, Lee Jeong Beom’s Jo Pil-Ho: The Dawning Rage (f.k.a. The Bad Lieutenant), and Pedring Lopez’s highly deserving sequel-bound hit, Maria. […]

The Magic Order

THE MAGIC ORDER Conjures Live-Action Netflix Series Development

Lee B. Golden III

It’s a good week if you’ve had your eye on James Wan as word now has it that he’ll be joining efforts to adapt Mark Millar’s The Magic Order for Netflix series development, executive producing with Lindsey Beer. We live in a world where we’ve never seen a monster and these people are the reason we sleep safely in our beds. Magic meets the mob in The Magic Order, as five families of magicians sworn to protect our world for generations must battle an enemy who’s picking them off one by one. By day they live among us as our neighbors, friends and co-workers, but by night they are the sorcerers, magicians and wizards that protect us from the forces of darkness…unless the darkness gets them first. Wan also will direct the debut episode with Beer serving as writer/showrunner. The move comes several years since Millar began spending a great […]

ARTHDAL CHRONICLES

ARTHDAL CHRONICLES: New Korean Fantasy Drama Hits Netflix June 1

Lee B. Golden III

This one flew under my radar in recent weeks but Netflix is toplining its stack of June releases with the June 1 global premiere of tvN Korean epic fantasy drama, Arthdal Chronicles. Kim Won-seok (Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Misaeng) directs a cast led by actors Song Joong-ki (The Battleship Island) and Jang Dong-gun (Rampant), and actresses Kim Ji-won (Mr. Sunshine) and Kim Ok-bin (The Villainess) lead the cast with a script by award-winning scribes, Kim Young-hyun (Dae Jang Geum, Deep Rooted Tree and Queen Seondeok) and Park Sang-yeon (Deep Rooted Tree and Queen Seondeok). Arthdal Chronicles depicts the birth of civilization and nations in ancient times. It is a story of mythical heroes, their struggle, unity and love of people living in a virtual land called Arth. The storyline of Arthdal Chronicles is centered around the ancient city of Arthdal, established on Arth. Eunseom (Song Joong-ki) relentlessly fights to protect his own […]

IMG_20190510_064529

I AM MOTHER Ensues The Battle Between Woman And Machine In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Netflix will soon have its day come June 7 for the release of Michael Lloyd Green’s sci-fi, I Am Mother. The official trailer premiered on Thursday, host to actresses Clara Duggard and Hilary Swank, and with Rose Byrne as the voice of a robot whose maternal functions add to the mystique of the story. I AM MOTHER is a sci-fi thriller about a teenage girl (Clara Rugaard), who is the first of a new generation of humans to be raised by Mother (Rose Byrne), a robot designed to repopulate the earth after the extinction of humankind. But the pair’s unique relationship is threatened when an injured stranger (Hilary Swank) arrives with news that calls into question everything Daughter has been told about the outside world and her Mother’s intentions. Green directs from his own script, storied with Grant Sputore.

Maria (2019)

Review: Revenge Thriller MARIA Pulsates With The Emergence Of A New Action Heroine

Lee B. Golden III

You can certainly bet from a local perspective that a film like Pedring Lopez’s new thriller, Maria, has been a rarity in the Philippines for years. There’s been actioners, but not as much and certainly not to the same measure and scope as other productions, and gladly, there’s been a pretty visible sea change in recent years in that regard. For this, a film like Maria is a reasurring sign of better times ahead with much deserving ceremony. Maria begins with our titular lady assassin, donned in black and descending unto a quiet home as she lays waste to the perimeter of armed guards at every turn. Her name is Lily (Cristine Reyes), and she’s the killer of killers, a prime leading member of the Black Rose – enforcers of the De La Vega crime cartel. Her story fast-forwards seven years later when she’s far and apart from heyday as […]

MARIA: Netflix Snags Cristine Reyes Action Thriller For May 17 Release

Lee B. Golden III

Try looking for writer/directing Pedring Lopez’s 2016 action horror, Nilalang, anywhere stateside and if you’re lucky, you’ll find it under some innocuous, generic title thanks to whatever schmuck snagged it for a legit U.S. release. It’s what’s always irked me – the dismissive, flippant way distributors handle Asian titles. That habit seems to haven’t dissipated, and thankfully, Netflix took notice in the wake of Lopez’s most recent feature outing, Maria, which hit theaters late last month to promising audience and critical responses. Set to stream worldwide on May 17, actress Cristine Reyes stars as the former member of a criminal cartel forced out of hiding to dispense vengeance when her new lease on life is violently interrupted by the very crime family that nearly had her executed. The project marks Reyes’ first action role from a script by Lopez and co-writer Yz Carbonel, and with Sonny Sison (Nilalang, BuyBust), overseeing […]

COWBOY BEBOP: Netflix Rounds Up Its Live-Action Cast

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been ages since talk began of a live-action Cowboy Bebop feature adaptation, and just a few years and change as those efforts evolved into TV with Netflix acquiring the rights last November. Now we have a quartet of casting announcements from Variety with John Cho (Star Trek reboot trilogy) leading the way as Spike Spiegel. The actor will be joined by Mustafa Shakir (Brawl In Cell Block 99, Luke Cage: Season Two) for the role of Jet Black along with Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) as Faye Valentine, and Alex Hassell (The Bisexual, upcoming Amazon series The Boys) in the role of Spike Spiegel’s archnemesis and the Syndicate’s most formidable hitman, Vicious. Based on Cain Kuga’s Kadokawa Shoten manga and Shinichiro Watanabe hit anime series from Sunrise Inc., Cowboy Bebop is the jazz-inspired, genre-bending action sci-fi tale of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine and Radical Ed: a […]

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: Netflix Forecasts More Superhero Thrills And Apocalyptic Drama For A Second Season

Lee B. Golden III

The announcements are in and The Umbrella Academy is coming back for another season which goes before cameras in Toronto this summer. Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castaneda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Justin Min are expected to recur for another ten episodes. The Umbrella Academy premiered its live-action first season adaptation from My Chemical Romance lead singer, series creator Gerard Way back in February. Its story is preceded by an event thirty years ago centered on 43 miraculously-born infants – seven of whom are adopted by a billionaire industrialist whose runs an academy specially devoted to schooling and training them to one day save the world. Thirty years later, the fractured family of whom there are now six surviving members are reunited upon learning of the death of their adopted father. With two time-jumping assassins hunting down one of their own as armageddon nears, it’s up to […]

STRANGER THINGS – SEASON 3: These Kids Grew Up Real Fast…

Lee B. Golden III

The official trailer for the upcoming third season of the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things, sort of reads like the end of an era of sorts. So much has happened in the events that took place since the 1983-set first season introducing us to a band of friends swept away into a supernatural tale of mystery and otherworldly danger and peril and government malevolence. Whether or not its shelf life remains is another story, methinks, considering how big and so well-received its been for creators Matt and Ross Duffer, 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, and Iain Paterson. It’s too early to call, but maybe there’ll be more to the show after this. Maybe. Whatever the case though, it looks like the idyllic, innocuous town of Hawkins, Indiana is about to turn upside-down… Season three of Stranger Things arrives on July 4!

‘Legend’ Director To Tackle BUTTON MAN For Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Well over a decade since the long-gestating adaptation of 2000 A.D. comic strip, Button Man, it looks as if the wheels are finally turning with an announcement from Netflix for a full-on film adaptation from writer/director, Academy Award winner Brian Helgeland (Legend). Button Man tells the story of ex-military contractor Harry Exton. The first true hero of the post-truth age, Harry’s a proxy in a clandestine competition among the super rich. Paid to fight to the death in modern-day gladiatorial contests, Harry sets out on a relentless journey to use these twisted elites’ own dark machine to bring their corrupt world crashing down. The news comes just over two years since J.J. Abrams and Warner Bros. Television were expected to take the reigns for a series long since Dreamworks’ own efforts began in 2006. 6th & Idaho’s Matt Reeves, the current shepherd for all things The Batman over at Warner […]

IMG_20190305_092456

ULTRAMAN Lands An Official Trailer For Its April Netflix Premiere

Lee B. Golden III

If updates from last year were any hint, classic Tsuburaya property, Ultraman, has a bright future ahead of itself. The latest serial treatment from the minds of Kamiyama Kenji and Aramaki Shinji (Eden Of The East Appleseed and Ghost In The Shell franchises), are staking their next claim in its Netflix rollout which commences April 1 from Production I.G and Sola Digital, and the official trailer is out this week. This is just the first of quite a bit of Japanese anime to come to the streaming site, so pace yourselves as I hope to do if your plan is to keep up! Ultraman’s next generation is here and its larger than life! Years ago, the famous giant of light Ultraman worked to protect peace on Earth. Now, a new champion arises: Shinjiro Hayata, a high-school student who must don the Ultra Suit and the worries that come with it. […]

THE OLD GUARD: Gina Prince Bythewood’s Image Comics Adaptation Lands At Netflix, Casts Charlize Theron And KiKi Layne

Lee B. Golden III

Gina Prince-Bythewood may not be on deck immediately with the Black Cat/Silver Sable pairing at Sony, but the Love & Basketball and Beyond The Lights helmer is still sticking to her interest in comic book lore with an adaptation of 2017 Image Comics publication, The Old Guard. For this, Netflix has since acquired the rights for the project that now stars Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde) and KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, Native Son). Leandro Fernández illustrated the original comic, authored by Greg Rucka who is now penning the script for the feature. Based on the comic book series created by author Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernández, The Old Guard tells the story of a small covert group of immortal mercenaries who must fight to keep their team together when they discover the existence of a new immortal and their extraordinary abilities are exposed. […]

Netflix’s ALTERED CARBON: SEASON TWO Lays Out Its Cast

Lee B. Golden III

It was announced last summer that Netflix’s neo-noir sci-fi action series, Altered Carbon would get a second season following its successful first outing last February. Joel Kinnaman, Ato Essandoh, and actresses Matha Higareda and Dichen Lachmann led the cast inspired by the Richard K. Morgan’s celebrated novel set in a future where people can “stack” a human conciousness and revive it in a humanoid-like “sleeve”. Also joining with performances by Will Yun Lee and Byron Mann, that’s what plays out for Kinnaman’s role as Takeshi Kovacs, a deadly operative once a member of an elite group of rebels known as Envoys fighting against the new world order. This sets the stage for his reawakening by a wealthy political influencer looking to solve his own murder, which led to an explosive battle between Takeshi, and a woman from his dark past. For this, the story continues with season two now in […]

Netflix Officially Cancels THE PUNISHER And JESSICA JONES

Lee B. Golden III

The trades are officially reporting that Punisher and Jessica Jones are no more with Netlfix completely purging itself of its Marvel TV roster. Via The Wrap: “‘Marvel’s The Punisher’ will not return for a third season on Netflix. Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come,” Netflix said in a statement. “In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for ‘Marvel’s Jessica Jones.’ We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others. We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and […]

Timo Tjahjanto’s THE NIGHT COMES FOR US: A Story Of Frenetic Poetry

Orson Welles said of friendship that, through it, we get to create the illusion that we are not alone. He said of women that through them men become civilized. I wonder what he would have thought of The Night Comes For Us, a film that illustrates friendship (both its value and fragility) through a harsh, deconstructive lens, and presents a young girl as the catalyst for its protagonist’s quest to civilize himself, that is, to regain his civility after a career of criminality and murder. Ito, played by Joe Taslim, is the star of the picture, a gangland veteran from the streets of Jakarta who progressed from here to become an enforcer for the East Asian Triad. Ito, at the film’s opening, has experienced a sudden change of heart -or re-evaluation of his life- when met by the pleading eyes of a young girl (Asha Kenyeri Bermudez) who just witnessed […]

TRIPLE FRONTIER: No Turning Back For Affleck & Co. In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Helping to fill-up the ‘Men On A Mission’ genre of thrillers is J.C. Chandor whose follow-up to A Most Violent Year now has an ensemble cast setting the stakes in Triple Frontier. Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, Garett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal lead the charge with a theatrical open on March 6 to be proceeded by a Netflix rollout on March 13. A group of former Special Forces operatives (Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal) reunite to plan a heist in a sparsely populated multi-border zone of South America. For the first time in their prestigious careers these unsung heroes undertake this dangerous mission for self instead of country. But when events take an unexpected turn and threaten to spiral out of control, their skills, their loyalties and their morals are pushed to a breaking point in an epic battle for survival. Directed by […]

DEAD OR ALIVE: Gracie Legacy Centers New BJJ Origin MMA Period Drama At Netflix

DEAD OR ALIVE: Gracie Legacy Centers New BJJ Origin MMA Period Drama At Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Who says MMA movies are out of fashion? Netflix is staking its claim with Dead Or Alive, described by THR/Heat Vision‘s Borys Kit as a period drama, an origin story, and “a no holds-barred MMA showdown!”. José Padilha (O Mecanismo, Elite Squad, Robocop, Netflix series Narcos) is set to direct from Peter Maguire’s script and will also produce with Greg Silverman and his Stampede banner. According to the report, Dead Or Alive sets its story stretching from 19th century Japan to present day North America, chronicling the life and times of Maeda Mitsuyo and Rickson Gracie, two men from vastly different worlds who spread their influence through the evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kit highlights in his report that Maeda was a martial arts ambassador whi arriving in Brazil via a circus in 1914 during his travels to the Americas to showcase the fighting art. After meeting Carlos Gracie (uncle to […]

Zack Snyder To Raise An ARMY OF THE DEAD For Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Borys Kit’s THR/Heat Vision exclusive announced on Tuesday that Zack Snyder is set to direct Army of the Dead for Netflix from a script by Joby Harold. Cameras are set to roll this summer with Snyder and wife and film partner Deborah Snyder producing via their Stone Quarry banner with Wesley Coller. The adventure is set amid a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, during which a man assembles a group of mercenaries to take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantined zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted. Army Of The Dead, originally brewed at Warner Bros. in 2007, reportedly reunites Snyder with Netflix’s Scott Stuber who gave the director his big break with his 2004 directorial debut, Dawn Of The Dead. The film is also being assembled with a budget close to $90 million and will essentially allow Snyder to stretch his creative muscles. “I thought this […]

REBORN: Millarworld Graphic Novel Adaptation Lands ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

The last few years or so have altogether been adding up for graphic novelist Mark Millar whose Millarworld hit big in partnering with Netflix to oversee creative endeavors based on his work. As of last week, fans can now add Reborn to the list of items now moving forward closer to the intended goal as director Chris McKay (Robot Chicken) has been set to helm an adaptation of the 2016 graphic novel. Where do we go when we die? What’s waiting for us on the other side? Eighty-year old Bonnie Black finds out when she passes away in a Manhattan hospital and opens her eyes in the world of Adystria, a magical land of monsters and dragons where good and evil are waging an eternal war. Reborn in the prime of her life, she finds all her old friends and loved ones waiting… except the husband who died before her. […]

THE STRANGER: Richard Armitage To Star In Netflix’s New Crime Series

Lee B. Golden III

Lead pic: Google Books