Author Archives: JJ Bona

City Under Siege Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)

RELEASE DATE: December 27, 2011 Funimation continues their string of live action Asian releases with City Under Siege, a sci-fi/martial arts flick directed by Benny Chan (New Police Story) and starring Aaron Kwok, Shu Qi, Collin Chou and Jacky Wu. The plot follows a group of circus performers who go on a rampage after they’re exposed to chemical gas, which has given them superhuman abilities. Check out the trailer.

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

Ip Man: Legend is Born Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 Ip Man: Legend is Born (aka The Legend is Born – Ip Man) is based on the teenage life of Wing Chun master Ip Man. Even though the film was openly marketed as a prequel (and sometimes as Ip Man 3) to the Donnie Yen/Wilson Yip movies, Ip Man: Legend is Born is not officially attached to those titles. Directed by Herman Yau (Untold Story) … Continue reading

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

Street Battle Los Angeles aka A Better Place DVD (Pathfinder)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011 Japanese gangs, Korean gangs, the Mafia, and every type of criminal imaginable gets involved in what turns into the most massive street fight you’ll ever witnesses; and Kenji (Masashi Odate) is caught right in the middle. Starring Masashi Odate (The Last Samurai) and Hidetoshi Imura (Akira’s Hip Hop Shop). Street Battle Los Angeles is a American/Japanese co-production.

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

Saki The Killer aka Saki DVD (Pathfinder)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011 When Saki’s grandfather (Hidetoshi Imura) visits Saki (Sachiko Kokubu), he also brings trouble, in the form of an evil Yakuza. Saki uses her artistic demons to fight the gangsters and killers who infiltrate her life, threatening everything in sight. Saki The Killer is a American/Japanese co-production.

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

Ninja Assassin (2009) Review

"Ninja Assassin" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: James McTeigue Cast: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, Sho Kosugi, Sung Kang, Randall Duk Kim, Linh Dan Pham, Ill-Young Kim, Yuki Iwamoto, Stephen Marcus Running Time: 99 min. By Mighty Peking Man If any of the following statements apply to you, then chances are, you definitely went through a “ninja phase” in the 1980s: 1. You had a copy of Revenge of the Ninja playing religiously in … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Related, Ninja, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Branded to Kill Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 When Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. Branded to Kill tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin (chipmunk-cheeked superstar Joe Shishido) with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most … Continue reading

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

Tokyo Drifter Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu’s attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa … Continue reading

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

Night Train Murders Blu-ray (Blue Underground)

RELEASE DATE: January 31, 2012 It was released as Second House on the Left, New House on the Left and Torture Train. The ads screamed, “Most movies last less than two hours! This is one of everlasting torment! It remains one of the most graphically fiendish films in exploitation history, the story of two teenage girls traveling through Europe, forced into a nightmare of sexual assault and sadistic violence. Irene … Continue reading

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

13 aka 13 Tzameti Remake, Russian Roulette, Blu-ray/DVD (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2011 13 is a remake of the 2005 French film 13 Tzameti. It’s directed and written by Géla Babluani, who directed and wrote the original film. A naive young man assumes a dead man’s identity and finds himself embroiled in an underground world of power, violence, and chance where men gamble behind closed doors on the lives of other men. Starring Jason Statham (“Blitz“), Alexander Skarsgard … Continue reading

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

The Six Million Dollar Man 6-DVD Set: Season 1 (Universal)

RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2011 After an astronaut is practically left in pieces when his aircraft crashes, a secret organization rebuilds him and now he’s a bionic badass with unbelievable powers! This classic TV series has one of the coolest credit/pre-credit sequences ever. It also has a cool character with a cool name (Steve Austin), played by a cool actor with an even cooler name (Lee Majors). Formerly only available … Continue reading

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

Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams: Archive Collection DVD (Warner)

RELEASE DATE: October 18, 2011 Academy Award-winning director Akira Kurosawa (“The Seven Samurai,” “Ran”), whose cinematic genius has inspired such classic films as “Star Wars” and “The Magnificent Seven,” presents his 28th, and most personal, film. Visually splendid, Kurosawa’s film consists of eight powerful vignettes, one of which features acclaimed director Martin Scorsese as painter Vincent Van Gogh. “Breathtaking… dazzling,” says The New York Times.

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

The return of Hong Kong action films

In the mid-90s, the Hong Kong film industry ate itself alive. In 1993, it had produced a record 238 films and its doyen director, John Woo, was about to dive, twin guns aflame, through Hollywood’s doors. Six years later, production had crashed to just 40 films a year and not even the local triad gangs could prevent their own films from being pirated: there were bootlegs VCDs on sale everywhere … Continue reading

Posted in News |

Shogun Assassin (1980) Review

"Shogun Assassin" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Lone Wolf and Cub Director: Kenji Misumi Co-director: Robert Houston Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida Running Time: 89 min. By Joe909 Shogun Assassin is one of those films that demands a recounting of its history, before you can actually review it. In 1980, a pair of producers with ties to Roger Corman got hold of the first two films in the Japanese Baby … Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Ninja, Reviews | Tagged , |

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray & DVD (Indomina)

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 Tsui Hark’s (Knock-Off) epic mystery film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame swept the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Director, Best Actress (Carina Lau), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound Effects, and Best Visual Effects. Nominations include: Best Film, Best Action Cherography (Sammo Hung), Best Original Score (Peter Kam), Best Supporting Actor (Tony Leung, Deng Chao), Best Cinematography … Continue reading

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Dragon Dynasty Jet Li 3-Disc Blu-ray Set: Fist of Legend, Legend Fong Sai Yuk & Tai Chi Master (Weinstein)

RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2011 Together for the first time in one complete Blu-ray package: Fist of Legend, Legend of Fong Sai Yuk (first time on Blu-ray), and Tai Chi Master (with Michelle Yeoh). Trailers: Fist of Legend | Legend of Fong Sai Yuk | Tai Chi Master

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