Author Archives: JJ Bona

Violence is cool for Tony Leung Ka Fai in ‘Lost in White’

Synopsis details for Lost in White currently run cold, but judging from the thriller’s snowy setting, director Xu Wei uses brisk weather as a plot device, much like Tsui Hark and Diao Yinan did for The Taking of Tiger Mountain and Black Coal, Thin Ice, respectively. Lost in White stars Tony Leung Ka Fai (A Better Tomorrow 3, The Raid), Tong Dawei (Switch), Zhou Dongyu (Breakup Buddies), Deng Jiajia (Silent Witness), Vision Wei (China Idol … Continue reading

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Exclusive Featurette: Zoë Bell fights dirty in ‘Camino’

XLrator Media (Close Range) has announced the U.S. release of the action-thriller Camino starring Zoë Bell (The Hateful Eight, Death Proof) and Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, Open Windows). Camino is directed by Josh C. Waller, who previously collaborated with Bell on Raze, written by Daniel Noah (Max Rose), and produced by Waller, Noah, and Ehud Bleiberg (The Iceman). Nicholas Donnermeyer and Barry Gordon executive produce along with Bell … Continue reading

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Ken and Ryu vs. Kurt Sloan in ‘Street Fighter: Resurrection’

Writer/director Joey Ansah is back with more live-action fun with Street Fighter: Resurrection. Christian Howard and Mike Moh – the two leads from Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist – return as Ken and Ryu. This time around, the two are up against the deadly Charlie Nash, played by Alain Moussi, star of the upcoming Kickboxer: Vengeance. Here’s what you can expect from the plot: The long-presumed dead Charlie Nash is back, and is targeting … Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Unleashed | Blu-ray | Only $6.88 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Louis Leterrier’s Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog), starring Jet Li (Hero), Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins and a brief appearance by Scott Adkins (Close Range). Along with Kiss of the Dragon, this is easily the best of Jet Li’s English-language films (read our review). It features fight choreography by Yuen Woo-ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: Sword of Destiny) and a downtempo soundtrack by trip hop … Continue reading

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Sho Kosugi to make “big budget” martial arts film with son

Sho Kosugi (9 Deaths of the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination), the most popular face of the 1980s “ninja craze,” has revealed to Arrow Video that he’s writing an English-language biography followed by a “big budget” martial arts movie. The movie was supposed to be Kosugi’s third collaboration with director Gordon Hessler (Pray for Death), but due to Hessler’s passing in 2014, the project was put on hold. “We put together … Continue reading

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Take a look at ‘Cult Cinema’ through the lens of Arrow Video

Arrow Video is one of the foremost distributors of cult cinema on DVD and Blu-ray. But now, they’re putting all that fandom into a new hardback book that brings together 25 of the world’s leading genre experts and critics to guide you through the multi-faceted beast that is cult cinema: Cult Cinema: Arrow Video Companion Book. Consider this book as a look at cult cinema through the lens of Arrow … Continue reading

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Final trailer for Netflix’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2’

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (aka Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny), the sequel to Ang Lee’s martial arts epic, will be premiering around the world on Netflix on Friday February 26, 2016 and will also be available in selected IMAX theaters. Yuen Woo-ping (True Legend) directs a script by John Fusco (The Forbidden Kingdom), which will be based off the fifth book in Wang Du Lu’s Crane-Iron … Continue reading

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Monk Comes Down the Mountain | DVD (Sony)

RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2016 Sony presents the DVD for Monk Comes Down the Mountain, by acclaimed director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine). This Chinese martial arts film (read our review) stars Aaron Kwok (The Monkey King), Wang Baoqiang (Kung Fu Killer), Lin Chi-ling (Red Cliff), Wang Xueqi (Bodyguards & Assassins) and Fan Wei (Back to 1942). It also features martial arts choreography is being handled by Ku Huan-Chiu (14 Blades). | … Continue reading

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

Deal on Fire! Bangkok Revenge | Blu-ray | Only $6.77 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Bangkok Revenge (aka Bangkok Renaissance), starring John Foo (Tekken), the star of the upcoming Rush Hour TV series. Manit (Foo) was only ten years old when they killed his parents. They should have killed him, too. Rescued from death by a master of Muay Thai boxing, Manit has spent his life training to be a killing machine. It’s 20 years later, and he’s … Continue reading

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Brett Ratner to remake Shaw classic ‘Five Fingers of Death’

Director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour franchise) is planning to remake the 1972 Shaw Brothers classic, King Boxer, a martial arts film that’s better known by its U.S. title, Five Fingers of Death. According to TB.com: Ratner and partner James Packer (The Revenant) will produce the project, which is set up under their RatPac Entertainment banner. They’ll be working alongside Celestial Pictures, the Hong Kong-based company which owns the rights to the … Continue reading

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Mojin – The Lost Legend | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2016 Well Go USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Mojin – The Lost Legend (aka The Ghouls) a new action thriller directed by Wuershan (Painted Skin: The Resurrection). Mojin – The Lost Legend (read our review) boasts an all-star cast that includes Chen Kun (Zhong Kui: Snow Girl And The Dark Crystal), Huang Bo (Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen), Shu Qi (The Assassin), … Continue reading

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

This new trailer definitely has an ‘Elephant in the Room’

Expect the unexpected in Elephant in the Room, an upcoming South Korean film that focuses on three separate stories, from three distinct genres, by three different directors – each tale is unsettling in its own unique way. The 1st story is a black comedy by Park Soo Young (Irreversible), about three people hanging off a seashore cliff in a car. They begin a game of chicken to survive; The 2nd is a drama by Kwon … Continue reading

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The Great Hypnotist | DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2016 Well Go USA presents the DVD for Leste Chen’s The Great Hypnotist, a Chinese thriller starring Karen Mok (Fallen Angels), Xu Zheng (No Man’s Land), Hu Jing (What Women Want), Lu Zhong (The Taking of Tiger Mountain) and Wang Yaoqing (Love is Not Blind). Xu (Zheng) is a therapist skilled in hypnotherapy. One day a patient named Ren (Mok) is brought to him with one of … Continue reading

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Veteran | Blu-ray & DVD (CJ Entertainment)

RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2016 CJ Entertainment presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Ryoo Seung-wan’s Veteran (read our review), an action film starring Hwang Jung-Min (The Unjust), Oh Dal-Su (The Pirates), Yu Hae-Jin (The Flu), Jeong Man-Sik (Kundo), Yoo Ah-In (Punch) and Jung Woong-In (The Quiet Family). Seung-wan is once again paired with Korea’s best action choreographer and frequent collaborator, Jung Doo-hong, and together the end result is the director’s tightest movie … Continue reading

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

Deal on Fire! Dragon | aka Wu Xia | Blu-ray | Only $9.99 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for 2011’s Dragon (aka Wu Xia), directed by Peter Chan (Comrades, Almost A Love Story). In this loose remake of 1967’s One-Armed Swordsman, Liu (Donnie Yen) is a villager whose quiet life is shattered when he saves a man from two notorious gangsters. He comes under investigation by a detective (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who is curious on how Liu single-handenly took on the gangsters. Dragon (read … Continue reading

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