vin diesel

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS: Charlize Theron Lets Loose The Anarchy In The New Extended Trailer

If you’ve developed a knack for putting certain pieces together, you might already be able to assemble what happens in a possible key moment that takes place between recent promo footage and Thursday’s newest trailer for The Fate Of The Furious. It’s a major thing and completely understandable, though it’s kind of funny that the sort of short-term memory and lack of attention to detail is the kind of thing the PR people are targeting, and if that’s the case then time will tell how that goes for future movies. So, yeah. I’m a little weary but there’s nothing wrong with helping present it to onlookers who otherwise feel curious or simply feed off of the hype and fandom and I doubt the caution will put a dent in Universal Pictures’s pocket as we’re coming off of a billion dollar box office grab from its predecessor as one of the […]

Vin Diesel Has No Choice In The Latest THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Universal Keen Fast fans were able to catch a glimpse last week when Universal Pictures surprsied fans with an online teaser with new footage for the new movie, The Fate Of The Furious. This one takes you a little more into the intrigue centered on main character Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the twists that are bound to unfold when the film opens in April. It’s a square teaser as well, so… I guess that’s a thing now. Oh well. The game has changed. #F8 pic.twitter.com/vC7ScLKFro — Fast & Furious (@FastFurious) March 4, 2017

Review: xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Knows Why You're Here, And You're Okay With That

Lee B. Golden III

Paramount Going into xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, I honestly thought this was going to be another douchebag action movie just like both its predecessors from Rob Cohen and Lee Tamahori. Sure, the fandom of having Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen notwithstanding, I’ve reached a pinnacle in my life where I’ve begun seeing past the veil of spectacle in most Hollywood action thrillers to be a little more speculative and critical than I’ve usually been. That said, I look at what D.J. Caruso brings to the table for this third installation and on its face, it’s still as full of the usual mindless fun as the first two films, though gladly it’s not as frustrating an experience – likely due in part to the fact that after fifteen years we already have a general idea about what we’re in for, so that helps. Yes, Vin Diesel is back in […]

Vin Diesel And The Curious Case Of The Action Star EGOT

This past weekend, we saw history being made. We watched in awe as Vin Diesel achieved the action-star equivalent of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). With the box office success of xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, Diesel is the first Hollywood action star to be the face of three action movie franchises simultaneously! In the past, action stars rarely got locked in to more than one action franchise at a time because they were franchises unto themselves. The closest that anyone has come would be Sylvester Stallone, who made Rocky Balboa, Rambo and The Expendables in the span of five years. Sadly, Rambo isn’t much of a franchise in the 21st century and Rocky movies just seem to happen organically these days (not exactly a bad thing). Van Damme, Seagal, Willis and Schwarzenegger all had about one franchise apiece while Statham couldn’t sustain more than two at a […]

xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE (2017): Same Zone, New Levels, All Xander

Vin Diesel And The Curious Case Of The Action Star EGOT

A good sequel is one that builds upon the established narrative of the original, taking it to surprising new places while developing its characters in new and interesting ways. This is a tall order, even when the first film practically lines up all the pieces FOR you. The original xXx (2002) couldn’t be bothered to create any narrative foundation to build on. It was purely bombast and fury, and so when it came time to resurrect the franchise, the filmmakers did the only logical thing: Develop the bombast in new and interesting ways and populate it with more cool characters than before. The result is probably the best sequel to a xXx movie we could ever ask for. When viewed today, the original xXx feels like a time capsule of the early 2000s. We got cameos by extreme sports stars like Tony Hawk (a.k.a. the coolest person in the world […]

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS: Family Falls Apart In The First Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Ask anyone up until now if you thought the ever-loyal Toretto family wasn’t going to have its share of trials and tribulations, and they’d probably tell you you were up your own ass for even asking that. Well, leave it to A Man Apart and Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray and his band of miscreants at Universal Pictures to turn things upside down for those naysayers who have been in for a huge surprise during the trailer launch on Sunday night for the new film, The Fate Of The Furious which now puts the famed love story between Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in sheer jeopardy, leaving a lot of people asking a series of WTFs online and such. It’s great dialogue for Universal though as I expect it may be, further driven by whatever past updates from the film’s other major star, Dwayne Johnson, may […]

Universal Announces THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS As The Official Title Of Upcoming Fast Saga Installment

Lee B. Golden III

Plotting the continuing course that lies ahead of the “open road” for The Fast And The Furious franchise hasn’t been an easy feat to achieve in the last few years. Thankfully we’ve seen Universal Pictures deliver on this tenfold in 2015 having endured the trauma of real life tragedy a few years earlier and the production challenges that ensued thereafter for its seventh installation, Furious Seven. And so it begins once again – the journey to explore what remains of a story to tell centered on our group of gearheads, racers, hackers and special ops agents as they continue to take on the residual swarm of villains stemming from Furious 6 joining the likes of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Michelle Rodriguez and Elsa Pataky once again with Jason Statham, Nathalie Emmanuel and Kurt Russell along with Scott Eastwood and actresses Charlize Theron and Dame Helen […]

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL 2 Reveals More Than Chris Pratt Wanted In The Newest Teaser Trailer!

Lee B. Golden III

There’s no mistaking just how much fun director James Gunn’s upcoming Marvel sequel, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 2 is going to be when it releases in May of next year. A second official teaser trailer arrived on Saturday evening and it doesn’t fall short on harnessing everything viewers loved about the first film and more! Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand. Turn up the volume and watch as Chris Pratt whips out the old Star Lord helmet, takes flight and Baby […]

Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Ruby Rose And Deepika Padukone Take Charge In The New xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Vin Diesel took to Facebook Live for the official launch of the third trailer for the upcoming release of xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage. All you need to know from there is that the film, from director D.J. Caruso, arrives on January 20, 2017. Apart from that, the recording of the live stream can be viewed below where Diesel hypes up viewers with his own insight and thoughts along with live inserts of the film’s co-stars…or just feel free to skip to the 19:30 mark to catch the goods. View post on imgur.com

[UPDATED] The First Official Teaser Poster For GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 2 Is Just Too Damn Cool

Lee B. Golden III

Follow comic book movie lore long and hard enough and you’re probably already aware of the potential prospects for director James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 2 which opens next May. Expected appearances by actors Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone aside, the cast is also expected to appear in the forthcoming Avengers: Infinity War and so forth, among other things, as per the 2014 film that saw our title characters take on an intergalactic supervillain with a purple Infinity Stone as their McGuffin. It’s one of several and all will play out with the eventual emergence of the evil Thanos, reprised once more by Josh Brolin. In the meantime, Gunn took to social media in Wednesday to unveil the latest teaser poster for the film which you can view below, with actress Karen Gillian to the far left followed by Michael Rooker as Yondu behind CG’d Rocket Racoon voiced […]

12716168_10154036515083313_5376392630661394883_o

Deepika Kicks All The Butts In The Second Trailer For xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

Lee B. Golden III

Director D.J. Caruso’s latest investment in Vin Diesel fandom, xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, doesn’t arrive until January from Paramount. Nonetheless, marketing is already underway and taking quite an odd shape as of late. The first official trailer premiered only two months ago and delivered a pretty nifty tease of some ridiculous, crazy action to accomodate the grade-A cast at hand which also includes Kris Wu and Nina Dobrev and professional fighter Michael Bisping, with martial arts stars Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa standing out the biggest and best. Serving as the female lead, however is Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone who, up until now has only ever been hinted as the sultry love interest for our character. On Sunday evening, a second official trailer went viral online and showcased plenty more of Deepika being way more than just sultry. Bottomline, her stunt double makes her shine here as a […]

The Rock Teases 'The Prison Scene Of All Prison Scenes' On The Set Of FAST 8!

Lee B. Golden III

2017 may well feel like a return to normalcy for fans ardent and loyal to Universal Pictures’s The Fast And The Furious saga. We’ve come a long way since the first film and the franchise has, indeed, evolved into something almost entirely different from what it once was, which is either a good or bad thing depending on how you feel about the previous four, bigger-scale thrillers. Thus, it looks like things will only get bigger in F. Gary Gray’s contribution, Fast 8, judging by the behind-the-scenes footage we’ve spoiled ourselves with in the last few months; From cars toppling from buildings onto the street to explosive tank chases in Iceland, and the inclusion what Gray and co-star Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson promise will be “the prison scene of all prison scenes”… yes, bigger indeed! Production rolls onward as the story of our renegade anti-heroes led by Vin Diesel and […]

The New Trailer For xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Kicks Ass And Looks Dope Doing It

Lee B. Golden III

…And because 2017 wouldn’t be a normal year with just one Vin Diesel movie, director D.J. Caruso is poised to release the long-awaited trilogical installment to the daredevil action franchise, xXx: The Return Of Zander Cage. Bearing in mind, of course, the utter flop that came with the 2005 sequel that followed Rob Cohen’s 2002 original, the film does carry some weight in having to pick up the slack. Well, you do get Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role once more from the earlier two films, as well as a list of beautiful femme fatales played by Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose and Nina Dobrev. What? Not enough? Ohhh k ok, how about we throw in the first time pairing of Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa, along with UFC Middleweight champion Michael Bisping for good measure? Sound neat? Well, all that and more as a reward for our patience can now […]

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS Gets A Commemorative Theatrical Re-Release On June 22

Lee B. Golden III

Studio money grab or not, this one is not without its share of heart and soul. Often described as Point Break on wheels, director Rob Cohen’s fantastical street racing crime thriller, The Fast And The Furious was a $207 million dollar hit, and consequently, the subject of a now sprawling franchise with tie-in shortfilms and several home-bound re-releases celebrating the film’s long-running success. Now, seven films in with an eighth on the way next year, Universal Pictures is proudly releasing Cohen’s orginal film next month in theaters. It’s the film that essentially landed lead actor Paul Walker on the map as fellow lead, actor Vin Diesel slowly started becoming a household name, and if you’re an ardent fan of this franchise, chances are this film means a lot more to you than most, as much of a journey its been. The successes overall are prevalent with the franchise now more […]

Charlize Theron Flaunts Her Arsenal In A New Still From FAST 8

Lee B. Golden III

Some women collect shoes. And then you have Charlize Theron here sporting her own collection of sorts as per her latest casting as villain, Cipher, in the new movie, Fast 8 as seen in the new photo below. Universal More of these pictures are bound to emerge with filming underway much of the main players from the previous film returning, with Furious Seven cast members, Nathalie Emmanuel coming back for her second go-around as sexy hacker chick, Ramsey, and returning franchise co-star Lucas Black as former troubled youth-turned-self-redeemed Drift King Sean Boswell since debuting in 2006’s The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. The film is opening on April 14, 2017, and with lead actor Vin Diesel’s shared hopes of bringing franchise co-helmer Justin Lin back to direct the final film no less, as the start of a new trilogy that will complete between April 9, 2019 and April 2, […]

New Roads Ahead In The First FAST 8 Teaser Poster

Lee B. Golden III

Universal Pictures’s The Fast And The Furious saga is one that continues to sell itself to succession, fifteen years and seven hit films into its existence. Alas, with director F. Gary Gray’s Fast 8 set to officially roll cameras this summer, who better than franchise star and producer Vin Diesel to keep the hype going? Alas, he’s done so with the first teaser poster below. It’s the second promotional image thusfar following the first one from January teasing the film’s partial New York City setting. April 14, 2017 is the date with Diesel returning to star, as are Tyrese Gibson, Christopher Bridges, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, with newly added Scott Eastwood, Kristofer Hivju and Charlize Theron.

Michael Bisping Replaces Conor McGregor In xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

Lee B. Golden III

With Conor McGregor now out of the current production of xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, it’ll be UFC Middleweight Michael Bisping entering the Xander Zone for its January 20, 2017 release from Paramount. The film, directed by D.J. Caruso, isn’t Bisping’s first stake in film either, having aleady done several acting gigs in the last six years, including Hollywood stunt coordinator Mike Gunther’s feature film directing debut, Beatdown, as well as Noel Clarke’s sci-fi actioner, The Anomaly, and the hit Cinemax series, Strike Back. The news also marks the latest in developments for the film which is still in production starring returning actor Vin Diesel before seuging into Fast 8 for helmer F. Gary Gray. Bisping will be joined by a good crop of select screen heavy-hitters including Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen, as well as actresses Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose and Nina Dobrev, and returning actor Samuel L. […]

FAST 8 Officially Casts Charlize Theron

Lee B. Golden III

It was last reported that actress Charlize Theron was possibly in line to reunite once more with director F. Gary Gray and actor Jason Statham for the April 14, 2017 release of Fast 8 for Universal Pictures. Well, lo and behold, Deadline is exclusively confirming it, as it is music to our eye-sockets with Theron sinking her teeth deep into action roles since playing road warrioress, Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road last year. The new film is being written by Chris Morgan and produced by Neal Moritz with many of the familiar faces lining up to star, as well as new ones – namely Game Of Thrones co-star Kristofer Hivju as of Wednesday. Theron last starred next to Statham in Gray’s 2003 hit, The Italian Job while the film also marks lead actor and franchise producer Vin Diesel’s own reunion with Gray since the 2003 crime drama, A Man […]

FAST 8 Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Co-Star Kristofer Hivju

Lee B. Golden III

Director F. Gary Gray’s Fast 8 is already underway over in Iceland and taking off to explosive fashion. The film, written by franchise co-scribe and executive producer Chris Morgan, is the eighth and the first of a new and final trilogy that is only just beginning with James Wan’s Furious Seven having left a sizeable impression at the box office nearly year ago, and on that note, details are finally taking shape. Albeit slowly but surely, of course, as the latet report from The Wrap now writing that Game Of Thrones series actor Kristofer Hivju for the role of the main villain’s henchnan. Said main villain hasn’t been made clear just yet but as many as a handful of cast members from the saga are already attached, including Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Christopher Bridges and Michelle Rodriguez, as well as returning antagonst Jason Statham. April 14, 2017 is […]

xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Gets An Early 2017 Release

Lee B. Golden III

Without a shadow of a doubt, perhaps the biggest factor in director D.J. Caruso’s latest, xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, will be the diversity and overall caliber of its cast. It’s generally what makes a Vin Diesel feature film so warm and welcoming on top of the virtual day-to-day upkeep of videos and photos the actor shares on his fanpage, and there’s no question either that similar practices by co-stars Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa are doing the same considering the amount of followers they each have on social media, starpower notwithstanding. Yep…I’d say the bar is set pretty high for this latest foray into franchise territory with Paramount staking its claim to release internationally. Thus, the company has finally announced a January 20, 2017 release date for the film, just four months shy of Diesel’s other forthcoming franchise flick, Fast 8, which starts shooting sometime this year. So, […]