Panda to go? Jackie Chan’s action-comedy ‘Panda Plan’ hits Blu-ray on February 18th from Well Go USA

Panda Plan | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

Panda Plan | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

On February 18, 2025, Well Go USA is releasing the Blu-ray for Panda Plan, an action-comedy starring martial arts superstar Jackie Chan (Hidden Strike, Ride On)

The film – directed by Zhang Luan (Song of YouthGive Me Five) – centers on a rare baby panda with a dark circle around just one eye, who becomes a worldwide sensation when he’s born at China’s Noah Zoo. But when a Middle Eastern tycoon dispatches international mercenaries to kidnap the zoo’s baby pandas, Chan, playing a version of himself as an international action star, is forced to get involved in a rescue mission (via THR).

Panda Plan also stars Shi Ce (Hi, Mom), Wei Xiang (Full River Red), Han Continue reading

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A return to the murky world of film noir? Wei Shujun’s acclaimed thriller ‘Only the River Flows’ now on Blu-ray

Only the River Flows | Blu-ray (Picture House)

Only the River Flows | Blu-ray (Picture House)

Now available is Picture House’s Blu-ray (Region B) for Only the River Flows, a 2023 thriller directed by Wei Shujun (Ripples of Life) that’s based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel, Mistakes by the River. For U.S. audiences, the film will be released on DVD from KimStim.

1990s small town China. A woman’s body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe’s mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here?

Director Wei Shujun’s murky throwback film noir, gritty, textured film grain captures the pulpy proceedings. Torrents of rain envelop the characters as they descend into madness in pursuit of the truth. Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and Continue reading

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I guess that’s why they call it the blues! Eiichi Kudo’s neo-noir classic starring Yusaku Matsuda is now available on Blu-ray

Yokohama BJ Blues | Blu-ray (Radiance)

Yokohama BJ Blues | Blu-ray (Radiance)

Now available from Radiance is the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for Yokohama BJ Blues, 1981 Japanese thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Eiichi Kudo (13 Assassins).

When his police detective best friend is killed, down-at-heel private eye and part-time blues singer BJ (Yusaku Matsuda, The Game Trilogy) gets the blame. He must start his own investigation to clear his name, but what he uncovers is a tangled web involving crooked cops, drug-dealing gangsters, the city’s underground gay and biker scenes, and even his own past.

A loose remake of Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye that also draws from Visconti’s Death in Venice, this was Matsuda’s break with his action hero image. Samurai movie veteran Eiichi Continue reading

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Xu Haofeng’s acclaimed martial arts actioner ‘100 Yards’ arriving on Blu-ray in February from Well Go USA

100 Yards | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

100 Yards | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

On February 18, 2025, Well Go USA is releasing the Blu-ray for 100 Yards. This martial arts masterpeice is directed by Xu Haofeng (The Final Master) and his brother, Xu Junfeng.

The film stars Jacky Heung (League of Gods), Andy On (Abduction, Undercover Punch and Gun, Black Mask 2: City of Masks), Hayden Kuo (Kung Fu Monster) and Li Yuan (The Guillotines).

100 Yards is set in 1920s Tianjin, northern China, and centres on the rivalry between the son of a martial arts master and his most talented apprentice. When the old master dies, the two face off to take over his prominent martial arts academy. But rather than obey the rule of settling disputes Continue reading

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‘Furious’ details for Visual Vengeance’s upcoming Blu-ray for Simon and Phillip Rhee’s 1984 cult gem ‘Furious’

On February 25, 2025, Visual Vengeance will deliver a Blu-ray for Furious, a 1984 cult martial arts gem from filmmaker Tim Everitt (Too Fast Too Young).

Furious is the first film to star brothers Simon and Phillip Rhee (4 years before the pair found the greener pastures of Hollywood in the Best of the Best franchise).

The rest of the film’s cast consists mostly of the Rhees’ own students and friends, including a then-unknown Loren Avedon (No Retreat, No Surrender II), former World Continue reading

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Details for the 4K Ultra HD SteelBook editions for Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill Vol 1-2’, ‘Jackie Brown’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’

On January 21, 2025, Lionsgate Limited is partnering up with Quentin Tarantino for Remastered 4K SteelBook Editions of Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Jackie Brown, and a semi re-release of Reservoir Dogs.

There was some speculation if the upcoming 4K version of the Kill Bill films will include the long-awaited Whole Bloody Affair (Tarantino’s edit of both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 as one film, complete with new footage), but judging from the newly released Continue reading

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The Shaw Brothers logo is missing from these Eureka, Arrow, Shout and Vinegar Syndrome releases – Intentional or Error?

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Two branches. One tree. Watch the Trailer for Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang’s upcoming ‘Karate Kid’ movie

"Karate Kid: Legends" Teaser Poster

“Karate Kid: Legends” Teaser Poster

The highly successful motion picture franchise that spawned three sequels, a remake, and a series is getting another reboot – or should we say crossover?

Sony’s new Karate Kid film, titled Karate Kid: Legends, will be directed by Jonathan Entwistle, who has served as a director and executive producer on two popular Netflix original series including I Am Not Okay With This and The End of the F**ing World.

The upcoming film is a continuation of both 2010’s Karate Kid (Jackie Chan/Jaden Smith), and the original franchise (Pat Morita/Ralph Macchio) that took place in 1984’s The Karate Kid, 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II, 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III and in the events Continue reading

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Praying for a ‘Mantis’? First images from the upcoming ‘Kill Boksoon’ spin-off arriving on Netflix in 2025

2023’s Kill Boksoon is getting the “expanded universe” treatment with Mantis, an upcoming spin-off that’s being helmed by newcomer Lee Tae-Seong, with co-writing writing help from Byun Sung-hyun (The Merciless), the writer and director of the original.

Mantis is set in the same contract killer world as Kill Boksoon. While the latter explores the story of Gil Bok-soon struggling to balance her life as a single mother and assassin, Mantis shifts the spotlight to a contract killer named Continue reading

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Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, Kara Hui and Xie Miao! Here’s what’s on Hi-YAH for the month of December

Hi-YAH!, Well Go USA’s very own Asian/martial arts streaming channel has just announced their New Releases for the month of December

If you want to give Hi-YAH! a go, visitors of this site can use the promo code “CITYONFIRE” for a FREE 30 Day trial!

Read on for the full list of New and Exclusive Continue reading

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The Beheaded 1000 (1993) Review

"The Beheaded 1000" Theatrical Poster

“The Beheaded 1000” Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Executioner
Director: Ting Shan-Hsi
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Siu-Ho, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Monica Chan Fat-Yung, Wu Ma, Pauline Wong Siu-Fung, Sun Ya-Tung, Shen Hai-Rong
Running Time: 105 min.

By Paul Bramhall

One of the more intriguing propositions to come out of the early 90’s, on the surface at least The Beheaded 1000 offers up a Taiwanese take on the Hong Kong blend of wuxia and fantasy that it did so well at the time. The blue lighting is prominent, there’s a wacky assortment of characters, and there’s even a raft of imported HK talent like Chin Siu-Ho, along with A Chinese Ghost Story luminaries Wu Ma and Joey Wong (ok, technically she doesn’t count because she is Taiwanese, but we’re going with it). However looks can be deceiving, and those clocking in expecting the typical new wave wuxia style madness involving ridiculously complex wirework, silk billowing in slow motion, and bodies exploding into colorful powder, may leave disappointed.

The Beheaded 1000 would mark the 10th and final collaboration between director Ting Shan-Hsi and star Jimmy Wang Yu, a partnership that had endured for more than 20 years.  Not that their collaborations were necessarily well spaced out.  After working together for the first time as director and star on 1972’s Furious Slaughter, over the course of the same year and 1973 they’d crank out 7 titles, including the classic Knight Errant. Continue reading

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Van Damme trims the enemies down in the Trailer for ‘The Gardener’ from ‘The Last Mercenary’ director David Charhon

"The Gardener" Theatrical Poster

“The Gardener” Theatrical Poster

Steven Seagal was just a cook in Under Siege. Daisy Ridley is just a window cleaner in Cleaner. Now, Jean-Claude Van Damme is just a gardener in The Gardener (aka Le jardinier), a French action comedy from director from David Charhon, who worked with the “muscles from brussels” in 2021’s The Last Mercenary.

The film also stars Michaël Youn (Divorce Club), Carl-Philipp Wengler (Blutspur Antwerpen), Matthias Quiviger (Medellin), Nawell Madani (Stuck Together) and Kaaris (Rogue City).

The Gardener hits Amazon Prime Video France on January 10th, but we do expect the film to make its way to U.S. audiences soon.  Until then, don’t Continue reading

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In space nobody can hear you ASH! New Poster for the sci-fi thriller starring Eiza Gonzalez, Aaron Paul and Iko Uwais

"Ash" Theatrical Poster

“Ash” Theatrical Poster

Martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2, Headshot, Beyond Skyline) is joining Eiza Gonzalez (Ambulance) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) for Ash, an upcoming sci-fi thriller that’s due to hit theaters early next year!

Directing Ash is musician/filmmaker Steven D. Bingley-Ellison (Kuso, V/H/S/99), who mostly known as his stage name, Flying Lotus. The XYZ/GFC-produced film also stars Beulah Koale (Dual), Kate Elliott (Power Rangers Ninja Steel) and Flying Lotus (Game Over, Man).

The plot of Ash follows a woman (González) who wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. She must now decide if she can trust the man (Paul) sent to rescue Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! The Shadow Boxing | Blu-ray | Only $18.99 – Expires soon!

The Shadow Boxing | Blu-ray (88 Films)

The Shadow Boxing | Blu-ray (88 Films)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for 88 Film’s The Shadow Boxing (aka The Spiritual Boxer Part II), a 1979 Shaw Brothers kung fu movie directed by Lau Kar-leung (Eight Diagram Pole Fighter)

From the legendary Lau Kar-leung comes one of his finest – and wildest – rides, following a pair of very special undertakers who transport dead bodies by magical means. But their latest trip is proving tricky; it’s bad enough that a strong-willed young woman has invited herself along for the ride but, even more awkwardly, one of the corpses might not actually be dead…

Pretty much inventing the kung fu horror-comedy, and a huge influence Continue reading

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The prosecution rests its case! Donnie Yen’s latest action thriller hits U.S. Theaters on January 10th from Well Go USA

“The Prosecutor” Theatrical Poster

After a disappointing turn with Polar Rescue, we’ll soon be seeing martial arts star Donnie Yen (Sakra, Chasing the Dragon) kick some actual ass in Mandarin Motion Pictures and China’s Huace Pictures’ The Prosecutor (aka Misjudgement) an action thriller from filmmaker Ho Pong Mak (Breakout Brothers trilogy), who co-directs along with Yen himself.

The Prosecutor is a poor young man is wrongly charged with drug trafficking after being deceived. An ex-prosecutor investigates the case, uncovers a corrupt lawyer team’s scheme, and restores justice despite obstruction from evil forces.

The Prosecutor also stars Kang Yu (Wu Xia, Big Brother), Julian Continue reading

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