tiff 2016

Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER Gets A One-Week 4K Theatrical Run In Toronto Beginning October 7

Director Martin Scorsese is well on the way to finally see his latest period epic, Silence, hit select theaters starting December 23 before opening wider in January. In the meantime, folks in Toronto will get an opportunity early next month to re-live the acclaimed filmmaker’s 1976 brooding crime drama classic, Taxi Driver. The official website has announced a one-week theatrical run with a 4K presentation starting October 7. Critics Night guest, film journalist and Toronto Film Critics Association president Brian D. Johnson will be on hand to host the October 11th screening at 8:40pm EST. Hallucinatory, mesmerizing and strikingly violent, Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader’s plunge into the twisted psyche of a cab-driving Vietnam vet offers a nightmarish voyage into the seedy underbelly of pre-Giuliani NYC. In perhaps his greatest performance, Robert De Niro brilliantly incarnates the lonely and deeply troubled Travis Bickle, a walking shadow adrift in a […]

WellGo USA Nabs GOD OF WAR For English-Speaking Territories

Lee B. Golden III

Asian action star Vincent Zhou’s career is one that’s been on the low signal end of things for a few years now. Thankfully he’s one that’s popped up from time to time with recent titles like True Legend, Wu Dang, The Boundary and The White-Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom, as I’ve been a fan of his work since having spied a few of his earlier hits like Fong Sai Yuk 2, The Blacksheep Affair and Fist Power. Soon enough, he’ll be launching a full scale period epic assault on our senses with director Gordon Chan (2000 A.D., Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen, The Four trilogy) for the new thriller, God Of War which opens in March of next year. Post production is underway for the film with news now out of Toronto from Variety that the film has officially been picked up for multiple English-speaking territories […]

George Nolfi’s BIRTH OF THE DRAGON Lands An Extended Promo

Lee B. Golden III

To mix in any conversation about martial arts films the question of just which Bruce Lee biopic is the best to date, is an instant invite to copious amounts fanboy scream-debating and shouting. Possibly in all caps. It gets crazy and little stupid at times, even more so as we live in an age when the long late martial arts and film icon is still a popular source to conjure on-going ideas for film and television. That point gets a new stake as of this week with festival screenings now happening in Toronto for the Kylin Pictures-financed and Groundswell-produced film, Birth Of The Dragon. The film marks The Adjustment Bureau helmer George Nolfi’s sophomore turn in the director’s chair with a script by Christopher Wilkinson and Steven J. Rivele, casting actor Billy Magnussen as a newly arrived San Franciscan whose drunken stupor in front of Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun studio […]

Hill And Rodriguez Talk Gender-Swapping Action Noir, (RE)ASSIGNMENT

Lee B. Golden III

With TIFF still in full swing, much is also ado with Saban Films’s most recent acquisition – director Walter Hill’s latest movie, (Re)assignment. However, don’t call it that title in front of neither Hill nor lead actress Michelle Rodriguez who leads the film as male assassin who seeks revenge after he’s double crossed by gangsters and given gender-reassignment surgery at the behest of a sinister plastic surgeon, played by actress Sigourney Weaver. The initial title upon the actress’s signing of the dotted line was Tomboy: A Revenger’s Tale and as you’ll see in the video here or below if you can see the player, Rodriguez discuss the title and their reason for their preference toward it, among other things regarding the film’s intentions as nothing more than an action-genre noir title. Critics are already observing this as per their opinions in reviews now rolling out online with mixed responses: Todd […]

Greg McClean's THE BELKO EXPERIMENT Gets U.S. Distribution Following Midnight Madness World Premiere At TIFF

Lee B. Golden III

Off the heels of a rousing debut at TIFF, Deadline reported Wolf Creek 1 and 2 helmer Greg McLean’s The Belko Experiment was the first to land a deal over the weekend. Orion will be releasing the film in association with Blumhouse’s BH Tilt for the film’s U.S. release on March 17, 2017. More about the film via TIFF courtesy of programmer Colin Geddes: Working from an acerbic, take-no-prisoners script by James Gunn (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy), director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) brings workplace stress to a whole new level with The Belko Experiment, a savage (and savagely funny) horror thriller where office politics turn into a real-life case of survival of the fittest. It at first seems to be an ordinary morning on the job for a group of Americans working for a not-for-profit in a modern office building in Colombia. After noticing that their Colombian colleagues have […]

TIFF 2016: Iko ‘Raids’ Audience Appeal In Mo Bros’ Killer Romp, HEADSHOT

Alex Chung

If you need your Indonesian action film fix (complete with The Raid and The Raid 2 star Iko Uwais beating enemies silly) then look no further than his latest, Headshot. Directed by Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto (Killers, Macabre), this is a film that will no doubt be compared to The Raid films. They do share the sweet combination of ultra-violence and martial arts, not surprising since it’s the Uwais Team choreographing the mayhem. But first, the story… Iko stars as a man who washes ashore and can’t remember who he is due to a nasty head injury. As his memories return via jarring headaches, so do his deadly skills of dispatching enemies. While it does sound like The Bourne Identity, martial arts movie fans will have more to look forward to as our hero regains his abilities. Chelsea Islan plays a doctor who nurses him back to health but […]

Saban Films Picks Up Assassin Thriller, THE HUNTER’S PRAYER, Starring Sam Worthington

Lee B. Golden III

We’re a ways from anything Avatar right now, so I reckon something a little more grounded will make for a nice change of pace. It’s the new film, The Hunter’s Prayer, announced in 2014 and now the latest prospect of Saban Films with events now underway at TIFF in Toronto this week. Read on! TORONTO – September 9, 2016 – Saban Films announced that they have acquired US distribution rights to The Hunter’s Prayer, directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and starring Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) and newcomer Odeya Rush (The Giver, Goosebumps). John Brancato and Michael Ferris (The Game) adapted the action-thriller from Kevin Wignall’s critically acclaimed novel, For the Dogs. The Hunter’s Prayer follows Lucas (Worthington), a solitary assassin, hired to kill a young woman, Ella, (Rush), who is unaware that her family’s questionable business dealings have cost them their lives. […]

Jung Woo-Sung Takes On An Inferno Of Terpitude And Violence In The TIFF Trailer For ASURA: THE CITY OF MADNESS

Lee B. Golden III

Director Kim Sung-soo’s newest presents what looks to be a stark, suspenseful tale in the new crime thriller, Asura: The City Of Madness. Kim reunites for his fourth outing with actor Jung Woo-Sung, who initially caught my attention many years ago with the 1997 urban youth crime drama, Beat, actor Hwang Jung-Min on the heels of hits like Fists Of Legend, The Wailing and Veteran. The film is opening on September 28 in South Korea but is first poised to play before TIFF during the Special Presentations line-up on September 12. As usual, festival programmers like Giovanna Fulvi get first dibs on these titles, and now offers her take on Kim’s latest effort. Korean maestro Kim Sung-soo (Musa: The Warrior) returns to the Festival with this epic crime drama about the creeping corruption that threatens a modern metropolis — and jeopardizes one man’s beleaguered soul. Detective Han (Jung Woo-sung of […]

HEADSHOT Goes For The Kill In The Brutal New Teaser Ahead Of Its TIFF Premiere!

Lee B. Golden III

Recent years have certainly seen promience within Indonesia’s film circles. It is of a slow but steady kind and due largely in part to the proliferation of its most notable player, Iko Uwais, undeniable in the work he’s put in to becoming a formidable, game-changing star, and he assuredly has changed it to some degree. His screen caliber as a martial artist and actor have all but sharpened since debuting in the 2009 action drama, Merantau. Following that with crime hits The Raid and The Raid 2 and save for a few albeit minimal cameos in Man Of Tai Chi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there’s no question that there are, indeed, directors who know how to utilize Uwais’s skillset appropriately. Thus, we now come to the latest work from Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, the hit film duo behind the 2014 slasher, Killers. They’re back, and this time […]

TIFF 2016: Baker Bros.' KIN Casts Reynor, Kravitz And Franco Ahead Of October Filming

Lee B. Golden III

Click here and you’ll find yourself immersed into a contemplative and intriguing little world set for us in the Jonathan Baker and Josh Baker-directed 2014 shortfilm, Bag Man. The short went on to become a Grand Jury nominated favorite last year at SXSW and much to the delight of its creators as well as the viewers who rightfully enjoyed it, and it’s pretty easy to see why. As such, that project has drawn its appeal as a workable sci-fi action picture now titled Kin for its advacement into feature film territory. Deadline reports the Baker duo will make their debut at the helm from a script by Daniel Casey which casts Transformers: Age Of Extinction co-star, actor Jack Reynor in the lead as a newly-released ex-con forced on the run with his younger brother, with a mysterious weapon of unknown origin as their only means of protection against a vengeful […]

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TIFF 2016: Bernthal Boards Dagg's Hitman Thriller, SWEET VIRGINIA This Weekend

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a good year for Snitch and AMC’s The Walking Dead co-star, actor Jon Bernthal, after having turned out an unbeatable performance in Netflix’s treatment of Marvel character, Punisher for Netflix series, Daredevil. It’s one of the best things you’ll see and, indeed, more will undoubtedly come for that character while Bernthal awaits other appearances in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver next year and the October 14 release of mathematical crime thriller, The Accountant starring Ben Affleck. In the meantime, the 41st Toronto International Film Festival is just a little over two weeks away from kicking off, and with executive producer and sales agent XYZ Films readying its package, news from Deadline has confirmed the latest on the upcoming production, Sweet Virginia. Cameras start rolling this Saturday with a Black List script by Ben and Paul China, featuring Bernthal in the role of a motel owner with a dark past, […]

[UPDATED] TIFF 2016: Mo Bros' Actioner, HEADSHOT Gets Poster Sightings

Lee B. Golden III

The tension and excitement continue to brew in lieu of the upcoming world premiere of the new action thriller, Headshot at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Other screenings are also in the works for the new movie from Killers and Macabre helmers Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel while a likely 2017 release date for next year remains pending. In the meantime, you may recall a batch of teaser posters slowly rolling out earlier this year during the film’s post-production process introducing blurred images of the cast. Well, as of this week, the images are much sharper as new posters have finally begun circulating by way of TIFF and featuring our cast at hand, led by Indonesian martial arts wunderkind, actor Iko Uwais in the role of Ishmael, an amnesiac whose violent past comes back to jog his memory whilst in the care of a nurse tending to him. Joining […]

TIFF 2016: Watch The Explosive New Trailer For THE DUELIST

Lee B. Golden III

Currently on deck for a premiere amid the specials line-up at TIFF, Alexey Mizgirev’s new thriller, The Duelist, is back and making the rounds with a pulsating new trailer brimming with intensity and action. SYNOPSIS: An adventure film, with dramatic and thriller elements set against the backdrop of palaces and the noble view of the Russian capital, The Duelist centers on Yakovlev, a retired officer, who returns to St. Petersburg from a long exile. While in the city, he fights as a duelist’s representative. (Nineteenth-century Russian duel law allowed for a duelist to be replaced by any one person.) Though Yakovlev fights for money, he also seeks honor and revenge against those who disgraced him, therein, challenging the Russian Providence. Starring are Petr Fedorov, Vladimir Mashkov, Martin Wuttke, Julia Khlynina, Yuri Kolokolnikov and Franziska Petri for its World Premiere next month ahead of its Russian IMAX release on September 29. […]

TIFF 2016: Mo Bros' HEADSHOT Wraps With New Images, Official Trailer Possibly Next Month

Lee B. Golden III

After two years of post-Raid hype and it’s plain to see how painstaking it feels just waiting for the next big Iko Uwais-led action movie to hit the big screen. Thankfully, the time since then hasn’t entirely been for naught with the Merantau star making a few notable splashes in Hollywood whilst keeping things afloat on the local end, and principally with hit horror genre duo, the Mo Brothers – Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel (Macabre, Killers). Plans to work together have come and gone in the past few years but has since led to the production of the new action thriller, Headshot, with Uwais back on camera as an amnesiac with a head wound whose violent past comes back to haunt him. The film officially completed production on August 11 with plans set in motion for its world premiere for the Midnight Madness line-up at next month’s Toronto International […]