screener review

Screener Review: IP MAN 3 (2016)

The past year or so has been quite a journey in observing the various headlines surrounding the production of director Wilson Yip’s newest film, Ip Man 3, along with my own. Going into this movie, it was very refreshing to see action star Donnie Yen back in the role that has done him so well for nearly eight years, and especially to see him reunite with someone like Yuen Woo-Ping who helped punt his career more than thirty years ago. That said, an Ip Man film is not something you go into lightly. Yes, I say this even as the franchise, at current, blurs the line between fact and fiction here and there, so as to present the once living Wing Chun master in almost folkloric fashion. Things like that haven’t sat well with a handful of fans who are more keen on a cerebral, existential approach to Man’s historical […]

EXCLUSIVE: Screener Review/Update: ALL MEN ARE THIEVES [Pilot] (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

It was back in February that I had the opportunity to sample some of director Henry J. Kim’s independent work with the shortfilm, No Rest For The Wicked. That title came in to my reach as he was already underway with prepping his next San Francisco-set crime drama, All Men Are Thieves which began its festival run a few months later. At an earlier time, the project was still being circulated as a potential pilot for a series, and I recently had the opportunity to screen that pilot which was shot in six days with a budget of $8000. Here, clocked in at forty-minutes with actors Frederick Szkoda and Lanny Joon starring, All Men Are Thieves centers on Vincent and Rich – seemingly two career criminals who end up reluctantly partnering for a series of jobs leading to a friendship that will ultimately test their loyalty to each other. The […]

Screener Review: ZOMBIE NINJAS VS. BLACK OPS (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

Along with all the absurd Sharknado movies, I’m not really keen on a lot of mashups unless one garners my attention. Zombie Ninjas vs. Black Ops just so happens to be one of those, if not for a mere appeal to the martial arts genre by way of said ninjas, and offers another noticeable effort in combining thrilling action and suspenseful horror, even in the company of its fair share of silly moments. Aussie film duo, writer Kylie Claude and directo Rody Claude present the story of Dillon, played by Adam T. Perkins. Burned out by war and the lack of a decent paycheck for his family, he still looks to protect and serve with less risk through Saisei Security, a private security and arms company. Little does he know of what really goes on past the lush walls and big bi-weekly payday until he and others find themselves amidst […]

Screener Review: MOMENTUM (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

Stephan Campanelli is well on the way for an October release of his feature film directorial debut, Momentum, which presents a stylish little gem for fans of female-centric action and thrills at the cinema. Olga Kurylenlo stars in this one, and its a film that definitely lets her strech a few more muscles, which I’m always for, although when it comes to the applied formula here, it certainly feels like more of the same in some aspects. Kurylenko stars as Alex, the leader of a team during a botched robbery which exposes her identity. Her team escapes with one fatality and an incriminating goods that now makes Alex target of a corrupt U.S. Senator’s hired mercenaries led by none other than the ruthless Mr. Washington. With more bodied piling up and her extender family now in danger, Alex is in the fight of her life with a package of diamonds […]

Screener Review: THE MARTIAL ARTS KID (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

The martial arts genre can be a thrilling one when it comes to movies. However, spectacle aside, every now and then it helps to get grounded a little more in what the overall practice of it really means, and we’ve seen that narrative several times in the past through different tones. This time, we get martial arts stars Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock as they spearhead this newest effort in director Michael Baumgarten’s new movie, The Martial Arts Kid. Actor Jansen Panetierre stars in the title role of Robbie, a new face in a small Florida town where he goes to live with his Uncle Glen and Aunt Cindy, played respectively by Wilson and Rothrock. Robbie’s prior stints with the law have forced his grandmother’s hand, leaving his fate in the hands of his extended family while he struggles to balance teenage life and his own inner turmmoil. […]

Screener Review: GARM WARS: THE LAST DRUID (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

I seldom get to watch an Oshii Mamoru film these days, so to be able to finally screen Garm Wars: The Last Druid is indeed a treat. As far as critiquing is concerned though, it was a little less enthusing than expected while still presenting quite a few gems along the way right down to its epic finish. Oshii and scribe Geoffrey Gunn wrote the script which centers on a cloned supersoldier named Khara, played by Melanie St. Pierre. The film ventures into a spectacular journey of self-discovery beginning in a tumultuous time when the world of Annwn, forged by an ancient deity with the creation of eight different tribes known as the Garm, is plunged into war, descending the tribal populace to three – each battling for dominance. Lance Henriksen plays Wydd, a rogue Kumtach tribal elder on the run with a Nascien, the last remaining Druid that holds the […]

Screener Review: AWOL-72 (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

REVIEW: I’ve been following director Christian Sesma for a few years now since covering his earlier work on the once-upon-a-time webseries, Vigilante Diaries. That project is still in full bloom as we speak, while his latest film, AWOL-72 is now heading for a release this month in the U.S. and the U.K., and certainly serves its purpose for the R-rated action film crowd. Actor Luke Goss and actress Heather Roop lead the story of Conrad Miller, a former soldier on the run when he’s discovered to have sold Cold War secrets to ex-KGB. With just three days to get out of the country with the woman he loves and their child on the way, he faces a few misadventures before he can steer clear of danger, including hillbilly human traffickers, crooked cops, two relentless detectives, and assassins who will stop at nothing to find him and kill him. The film […]

Screener Review: CALL ME KING (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

There are a lot of action films that simply entertain from start to finish with a mere modicum of value founded on the distraction of spectacle. As such, apart from these, very few movies within the genre stand out, and it takes an immense degree of creative independence aside from the usual hard work and willingness to accomplish doing so without said “distractions”. Really, this is all a moviegoer can ask for on top of great acting and action, and for this, we have to thank writer and director R.L. Scott in lieu of his latest crime drama, Call Me King. The film centers on Rhyis (Amin Joseph) and Khalil (Maurice Whitfield), two sons of an ousted dictatorship in Haiti who have risen in America’s criminal ranks since childhood. Joined by Grimm (Sean Riggs) and Zoh (Jonathan “Lil J” McDaniel), they run The Strap Set – a quartet of gun […]

Screener Review: ASSASSINATION (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

There is a lot for me to explore in cinema as there are tons of films I still need to see, including those of director Choi Dong-hoon. That said, his latest 1930’s-set war drama, Assassination is very much an introduction to his craft for my own experience as a moviegoer, and there are a ton of moving pieces to this story as it’s full of twists and turns that are sure to keep your attention. The film begins with as Yim (Lee Jung-Jae), a Korean rebel whose failed assassination attempt of a Japanese general leads to his capture and torture prior to having reportedly escaped within an inch of his life. Years later, he is now an interim agent for the incognito Korean government, and is assigned by the vice-president and his cohorts to assemble a team of assassins to mobilize in Shanghai. The team is comprised of Dak-sun (Choi […]

Screener Review: WILD CITY (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

I have only seen just several Ringo Lam flicks in my time as a follower of the Hong Kong cinema. That stated, all are taken into account when encompassing the experience of Asian cinema, and with his latest return to the helm, Wild City will surely appeal to the niche after nearly seven years away from the director’s chair. The film follows actor Louis Koo in the role of T-Man Kwok, a former cop who resigns after a failed bust and becomes a bartender. Soon, chance encounter with a drunken woman named Yun, played by Tong Liya, turns from an act of good will into a chaotic fight for survival on the streets of Hong Kong with Shawn Yue in the role of T-Man’s step brother, Chang, immediately swept into the calamity. With each passing moment of increasing danger, T-Man and Chang learn the ultimate truth of what’s at stake, […]

Screener Review: AWAKEN (2015)

Lee B. Golden III

REVIEW: Seldom do I have the chance to see survival thrillers and I always welcome them as part of my film enjoyment, especially if the trailer convinces me enough. Certainly, it has done so with the presence of actress, writer and producer Natalie Burn who puts every piece of herself into her latest role in Mark Atkins‘ new film, Awaken, which already has just under a dozen wins and one nomination stemming from its film festival run in the past several months. The film sets our leading lady in the role of Billie Kope, alone on a quiet beach front on a remote island far from civilization. Briefly disoriented and her clothes mildly disheveled, she wakes up and emerges into the jungle wilderness only to find herself accompanied by seven other strangers being chased by men in camouflage. Soon it becomes clear that this is no island paradise as Kope […]

Screener Review: EL TESTIGO – THE WITNESS (2011)

Lee B. Golden III

SYNOPSIS: On what seemed to be a normal day, Chelo, unexpectedly witnesses a murder. In the midst of the chase by the perpetrators, the cops mistake him as the killer. He will be forced to fight for his life. REVIEW: It’s not everyday you get to see a Puerto Rican-produced martial arts film…well, at least it felt that way until about 2011 with the rollout of director Andres Ramírez‘s action adventure, El Testigo (The Witness). Featuring the stylings of lead actor, writer and stunt coordinator Jose Manuel, the film was ultimately the first of its kind in Puerto Rico to reportedly cater to the martial arts movie niche. It’s earned its share of awards and nominations for a reason, and while the genre is still slow to take in Puerto Rico among other parts of the world, one can only hope that the slow nature of progress in today’s film […]