Author Archives: JJ Bona

City of God aka Cidade de Deus Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

September 19, 2011 JJ Bona

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 The gangster classic has arrived on Blu-ray! Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, and starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele, Leandro Firmino, Douglas Silva and Alice Braga. I think it’s time for you to watch the trailer once again.

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

Champions aka Duo Biao (Lionsgate)

September 19, 2011 JJ Bona

RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011 Lionsgate is releasing Tsui Siu Ming’s (Bury Me High) 2008 action film Champions, which is about an underdog wushu athlete (Dicky Cheung) whose dream is to represent China in a martial arts performance at the Olympic Games so as to win the heart of a national sprinter, the girl he’s in love with. Also starring Xie Miao, Priscilla Wong Chui-Yu, Debbie Goh, Yu Rong-Guang, Xu … Continue reading →

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

City Under Siege Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)

September 18, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 17, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 17, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 17, 2011 JJ Bona

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

September 16, 2011 JJ Bona
"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)

September 15, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 15, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 15, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 15, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 14, 2011 JJ Bona

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)

September 14, 2011 JJ Bona

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

September 13, 2011 JJ Bona

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

September 11, 2011 JJ Bona
"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 , |
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