Author Archives: JJ Bona

Samurai, Swords, and Steeds: Equestrian Symbolism in Japanese Cinema

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/shallow-focus-of-a-man-and-woman-in-their-game-character-costumes-7780083/ When we think of Japanese samurai films, we often imagine that the focus is on the warrior who appears on screen, sword in hand, honor on the line, and the story unfolds through duels. But for Japanese samurai movie lovers, another presence subtly shapes the atmosphere. We’re talking about the horse. A true samurai always has a horse on his side. In many samurai stories, … Continue reading

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Donnie Yen, nuns, priests, exhumed bodies and real kung fu! Here’s what’s streaming on Hi-YAH for the month of March

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

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WTF? Watch the NEW blood-soaked Trailer for Joko Anwar’s Indonesian martial arts-horror-comedy ‘Ghost in the Cell’

Joko Anwar, the writer and director of films such as 2019’s Impetigore and Gundala, comes Ghost in the Cell, an upcoming Indonesian horror-comedy (despite being sub-labeled a comedy, this one looks brutal!). Inside a notorious prison, an unseen force begins slaughtering inmates in brutal fashion, forcing rival gangs and corrupt guards to unite in a desperate fight to survive the escalating bloodshed. The film features an ensemble cast that includes … Continue reading

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Five Major Aspects To Keep In Mind When It Comes To Picking Your Next Online Casino Platform Gambling Experience

Have you heard about how popular the online casino market has become? You have? Well, that’s fair because it is a fact. No matter which country or state’s stats you look at, you’ll notice that the figures are consistently rising in their revenue amounts. This is because online casino platforms are more accessible than ever. They are also safer and more secure than before and platforms often offer a large … Continue reading

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How Asian Action Cinema Shaped the Modern Language of Fight Choreography Worldwide

Watch a good fight scene today and you can almost read it like a sentence. The camera shows you where the bodies are, the movement has a beat, and the action can easily tell you who is confident, who is desperate, and who is changing. That shared sense of what reads as good action did not appear by accident. It traveled. In the same way people now connect across borders … Continue reading

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PRAISE THE LORD! 88 Films’ jam-packed 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray for Jackie Chan’s ‘Dragon Lord’ is NOW shipping

Now shipping from U.S. retailer Goodie Emporium is 88 Films’ 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Region B) for Dragon Lord (aka Young Master in Love), a 1982 kung fu film directed by and starring Jackie Chan (The Shadow’s Edge). Dragon Lord was originally conceived as a sequel to Young Master (hence its alternate title), but Jackie Chan and his team reworked it so heavily during

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The Valiant Ones | 4K Ultra HD | Only $24.99 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the 4K Ultra HD for Eureka’s The Valiant Ones, a 1975 film by celebrated Taiwanese filmmaker King Hu, an undisputed master of the genre! Shot back-to-back with The Fate of Lee Khan (but not released until two years later), it stands as a worthy follow-up to his earlier works Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (Chao Lei), China’s coastal … Continue reading

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Bridging Comfort and Community: Embracing Home Care Services in Conway SC

How Senior Home Care Priorities Are Shifting The landscape of senior care is changing fast. Aging in place is no longer a fringe aspiration; it’s the norm for families who value dignity and control over institutional rigidity. Demographics are tilting toward more seniors living alone yet seeking meaningful social contact. Mental and emotional health are climbing the priority ladder, right next to physical wellbeing. This shift favors personal support that … Continue reading

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Samurai Revolution Trilogy | Blu-ray (Arrow)

On March 31, 2026, Arrow is releasing the Blu-ray (Region B) set for Eiichi Kudo’s Samurai Revolution Trilogy (pre-order from Goodie Emporium today) which includes 1963’s 13 Assassins, 1964’s The Great Killing, and 1967’s 11 Samurai. Throughout Japanese cinema, the image of the noble samurai righting wrongs katana in hand remains a fixture of the jidaigeki genre, with the authoritarianism and corruption of the country’s medieval past often attenuated for … Continue reading

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The High-Stakes Evolution: Why Gambling Movies are Dominating the 2026 Asian Cinema Slate

Image Credit – Gemini 2026 is a land-changing, pivotal year in Asian cinema. On the huge film lists of South Korea and Hong Kong, there is currently a complex and planned revival: the revival of the so-called Gambling Hero type. Nevertheless, this film renaissance, which industry analysts and Asia-focused film sites like Cityonfire have been busy following, is not just the nostalgic backlash to the high-adrenaline and smoke-filled cinematic aesthetic … Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Pray for Death | Blu-ray | Only $14.99 – Expires soon!

Pray for Death | Blu-ray (Kino Lorber)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for the 1985 cult martial arts classic, Pray for Death (read our review), starring Sho Kosugi (Ninja III: The Domination). In Pray for Death, Restauranteur Akira (Kosugi) has taken his wife and two boys to America in search of a better life. But their dream is quickly soured when they fall foul of a group of vicious thieves. Unfortunately for the bad guys, they … Continue reading

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Return to form for ‘The Raid’ star Iko Uwais? Silat fueled actioner ‘Pendekar: Warrior’ begins filming this summer

Martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2) will lead Pendekar: Warrior, an upcoming Indonesian martial arts film that will mark the directorial debut of award winning cinematographer John Radel. Radel is no stranger to the genre, having previously worked on 2018’s Buffalo Boys and also served as a producer on 2016’s Headshot and 2018’s The Night Comes For Us, both of which starred Uwais. The film follows a … Continue reading

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The long-awaited ‘Face/Off’ sequel is now without a director, so maybe it’s time to bring John Woo back for another round!

The long-anticipated sequel to Face/Off has hit a major setback. Although the plan is still to reunite Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, the director who had been attached to the project for years has officially stepped away. Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong, Death Note, The Guest) is no longer set to direct the follow-up to the 1997 action classic. With his busy schedule

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Expecting the other ‘Furious’? Watch the Trailer for ‘Furious Attack’ starring martial arts stars Andy On and Phillip Ng

Looks like Tanigaki Kenji’s Furious has some competition! Hong Kong martial arts stars Andy On (Blind War) and Phillip Ng (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In) go head-to-head in Furious Attack (aka Without Remorse), an action-thriller from director Huang Yi (Infernal Storm). A former special forces soldier goes undercover in northern Myanmar to rescue his missing daughter, battling scam gangs and organ traffickers before facing off with the crime boss in … Continue reading

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How Does Technology Impact Our Daily Lives?

Wake up. Reach for the phone. Scroll. Before your feet even hit the floor, technology has already shaped your morning. It’s quiet. Almost invisible. But it’s everywhere. From the alarm on your smartphone to the traffic app guiding your commute, technology runs in the background of modern life. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just consistently. And the truth is, most of us don’t even notice how deeply it affects us anymore. … Continue reading

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