Author Archives: JJ Bona

Black Butler | Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)

RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017 On May 2, 2017, Funimation will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for Black Butler, an 2014 action fantasy film by directors Kentaro Otani (Go, Masao!) and Keiichi Sato (Asura). Inspired by the hit anime series Black Butler, this live-action adaptation brings an all-new story featuring a familiar demon butler doing what butlers do best: helping their masters seek revenge. The Black Butler is back—and there’s an all-new mystery … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Blood and 1980s synth merge in ‘Noriko: The Hong Kong Dead’

When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. With Hong Kong island under quarantine and the walking dead roaming the streets, small pockets of survivors struggle to stay alive. But when the authorities learn of a potential cure located somewhere within the city, a lone warrior must battle the undead with the fate of mankind in his hands… That’s the plot for Noriko: The Hong … Continue reading

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Enter our ‘Return of Kung Fu: Trailers of Fury’ Blu-ray Contest! – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Cityonfire.com and Severin Films are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of Return of Kung Fu: Trailers of Fury to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, comment on the video below: We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you … Continue reading

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Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo return to crime for ‘Drug Warn’

Famed Hong Kong star Lau Ching Wan (Call of Heroes) looks to be getting back to the gritty, grimy world of gangsterism in Drug Warn (previously known as The Fixer), an upcoming film from director Lawrence Lau (My Name is Fame). AFS describes the Drug Warn as a true-crime drama about a Hong Kong gangster gone good. We cannot help but think of Lau’s Too Many Ways to Be Number One, or any of his other Milkyway titles made in the era were Lau was … Continue reading

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Run, hide or fight until you reach the ‘Check Point’

On March 7th, Thomas J. Churchill’s all-star actioner, Check Point, will be unleashed on practically all streaming platforms, as well as DVD at major retail outlets, including Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Netflix, Redbox and Military Base shops. Check Point is about a sleeper cell terrorist plot that is discovered in a small town where everyone knows one another, or so they thought they did. As justice seems lost, when an insurgent attack threatens to … Continue reading

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Wang Kai and Zhang Luyi collide in ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’

China Lion Film Distribution has announced the release Alec Su’s (The Left Ear) The Devotion of Suspect X in the U.S. on March 31st. The feature is based on Keigo Higashino’s award-winning novel. The Devotion of Suspect X follows a professor (Wang Kai of Railroad Tigers) assisting in a murder investigation, only to find that a longtime rival and friend (Zhang Luyi of The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel) from his early university days … Continue reading

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New ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Japanese Poster shows off the cast

The release of Rupert Sanders (White and the Huntsman) live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, based on Masamune Shirow’s manga/and anime by Mamoru Oshii of the same name, is right around the corner. The film follows the exploits a female cyborg cop who hunts a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master. Ghost in the Shell stars Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Michael Pitt (Funny Games), Pilou Asbæk (A Hijacking), Sam … Continue reading

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009-1: The End of the Beginning | Blu-ray (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017 Tokyo Shock presents the Blu-ray for 009-1: The End of the Beginning, directed by Koichi Sakamoto (Kamen Rider Fourze the Movie: Everyone, Space Is Here!). This 2013 film is based on Shotaro Ishinomori’s classic spy heroine manga, 009-1. Meet Mylene, a sexy, sleek cyborg spy. She’s dressed to kill, fully-loaded with an anatomically concealed arsenal of high-tech weaponry and programmed with the most lethal fighting skills. 009-1: The End of the … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, News |

‘A Hard Day’ and ‘Tunnel’ director to deliver zombies to Netflix

Kim Seong-Hun, the filmmaker behind A Hard Day and Tunnel, is making an eight-episode Korean zombie series for Netflix from a script by Kim Eun-hee (Signal). According to Deadline, Kingdom is set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period where a crown prince is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak that leads him to a brutal truth that threatens the kingdom. “I wanted to write a story that reflects the fears and anxiety … Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Firestorm | Blu-ray | Only $8.99 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Firestorm, starring Andy Lau (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame), Yao Chen (Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe) and Gordon Lam (Trivisa). Firestorm is a high-octane action/thriller set in modern day Hong Kong. It follows Lau as a senior police inspector out to bring a vicious gang of thieves to justice. Firestorm (read our review) arrives from screenwriter-turned-director Alan Yuen, whose previous script credits … Continue reading

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Prequel to Donnie Yen’s ‘Painted Skin’ coming in 2019

Back in 2008, director Gordon Chan (Armageddon) helmed an action-romance titled Painted Skin, starring Chen Kun (Zhong Kui), Zhou Xun (The Banquet), Zhao Wei (14 Blades) and Donnie Yen (xXx: Return of Xander Cage). The film was loosely based on a classic short story by Pu Songling, a writer of supernatural tales during the Qing Dynasty. The same story also served as the inspiration for a 1992 Painted Skin starring … Continue reading

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Akira Kurosawa’s ‘The Mask of the Black Death’ in the works

Chinese entertainment company Huayi Brothers (Mojin: The Lost Legend, Dragon Blade) have announced The Mask of the Black Death, an upcoming film based on a script by one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Ran). The Mask of the Black Death (based on on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death) was written by Kurosawa following his 1975 film Dersu Uzala and was … Continue reading

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The Handmaiden | Blu-ray (Sony)

RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2017 From visionary director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) comes The Handmaiden (read our review), a film adaptation of Sarah Waters’ 2002 novel, Fingersmith. The Handmaiden will be getting a Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on March 28, 2017 (DVD version was released in January). The Handmaiden is a gripping and sensual tale of two women – a young Japanese Lady living on a secluded estate, and … Continue reading

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Pulse | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)

RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2017 Arrow Video presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (aka Kairo, read our review). Award-winning filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa (not related to Akira) delivered one of the finest entries in the “J-Horror” cycle of films with this moody and spiritually terrifying film that delivers existential dread along with its frights. Setting his story in the burgeoning internet and social media scene in Japan, Kurosawa’s dark and … Continue reading

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Michelle Yeoh takes on a Malaysian Bigfoot in ‘Mawas’

Brace yourself for Jeffrey Chiang’s Mawas, an upcoming thriller that’s being dubbed as “Malaysia’s first monster movie.” Headlining the film is Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh (Reign of Assassins). But don’t expect something in the lines of King Kong, Godzilla or any other kaiju film, because Mawas is more in tune with folklore favorite, Bigfoot. According to CO: Mawas is a Malaysia’s hominid cryptid similar to America’s Bigfoot which was reportedly sighted in Johor, Malaysia. There have been … Continue reading

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