THE MOVIE: Last month, the first glimpse of David Cronenberg’s film Cosmopolis hit the web. Everything about the teaser – the music, the logo font, and the flashes of grotesque violence – bring to mind vintage Cronenberg, i.e. transgressive films like Videodrome and ExistenZ. This time around, though, the director is finding his inspiration in the work of acclaimed author Don DeLillo (White Noise, Underworld) and he’s bringing along Twilight … Continue reading →

Cityonfire.com has received the following press release: CJ Entertainment brings the highly anticipated science fiction thriller Deranged to North America on July 27, 2012. Upon its release in South Korea, Deranged quickly beat out Hollywood blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man in the box office and sold more than 1.3 million tickets in 4 days. There must be something in the water. Just before dawn, skeletal bodies surface on the Han River in Seoul, Korea.  … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: Len Wiseman, director of the most contentious Die Hard sequel (Live Free or Die Hard), has his remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 film Total Recall. The original starred Arnold Schwarzenegger; this time around Colin Farrell headlines a cast that includes Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Jessica Biel. In theaters on August 3, 2012. Updates: ComicBookMovie via Collider has a blurb from Beckinsale on how her Lori distinguishes itself … Continue reading →

Thousand Pounds Action Company are the creators of over 20 popular martial arts shorts, which are viewable on their YouTube page. Thanks to their intense fight choreography, fluid camerawork, and subtle special effects, their videos have earned them over 13 million views online. Just check out this video game-inspired Street Fighter x Tekken video for a taste of what Thousands Pounds is capable of. Now Thousand Pounds is turning to the … Continue reading →

It’s about time – we’ve finally got a week where there’s plenty of Asian cinema to choose from, no matter what your tastes happen to be. In fact, I dare say this is one of the best weeks we’ve had in awhile. So enjoy! Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/10/12: ASIAN CINEMA Butterfly Swords (DVD) – Well Go USA offers a DVD re-release of … Continue reading →

It feels like there’s been a surplus of Asian horror anthologies as of late, but one in particular to keep an eye on is Ghost Story Shin-Mimibukuro. This horror comedy arrives from fan favorite director Noboru Iguchi of The Machine Girl and Robo Geisha fame. Ghost Story features four different spooky tales, the twist being that Iguchi is adding a healthy dose of humor to his fright flick. In the … Continue reading →

Chances are, no Hong Kong director working today will ever manage to top the gloriously sleazy Category III exploitation of Clarence Fok’s Naked Killer. But that’s not keeping some people from trying. Back in 2002, the usually classy Ching Siu-tung helmed a movie called Naked Weapon, which was seen as a throwback of sorts to Naked Killer and starred Maggie Q and Daniel Wu. Now Marco Mak, no stranger to … Continue reading →

Kuchisake-onna is the urban myth involving a slit-mouthed woman that was popularized in Japan during the late 70’s and has since been immortalized in several horror movies. You can add another film to the pile with Kuchisake-onna Returns, which opens in Japan this July 7th, 2012. The story follows a young grad student who heads to a rural town in the hopes of studying the Kuchisake-onna myth. Not surprisingly, she soon … Continue reading →

Beyond Hollywood has the trailer for a new Chinese-language horror film called Bi Xian (“A Crazy Single Mom”), which is actually arriving from the Korean filmmaker behind movies like Phone and Nightmare. Director Byung-ki Ahn formed his own Beijing-based production company and Bi Xian is their first release. Plot details are scarce but it looks to involve a woman who moves into a haunted house with her young son. Chinese … Continue reading →

The trailer is online for Wu Dang, a new fantasy-based Chinese martial arts film from the director of Twins Effect II and featuring action choreography by the legendary Corey Yuen. The film stars Vincent Zhao, who is probably most famous at the moment for dropping out of Donnie Yen’s Special Identity, alongside Siu-Wong Fan (Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky) and Yang Mi. Based on the trailer, it looks like this movie … Continue reading →

There’s no denying the zombie genre has grown a little stale these days. George Romero has said just about everything has to say with the genre and zombies are now beamed into our homes on a regular basis thanks to The Walking Dead. But Taiwanese director Joe Chien may have stumbled upon a way to make the shambling undead seem interesting again, by adding a healthy dose of Category III-style … Continue reading →

It’s not even the Fourth of July yet and already I’m tired of all the fireworks that have been going off in my neighborhood. Anyway, let’s take a look at what’s available this week, shall we? Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/3/12: ASIAN CINEMA Wind Blast (Blu-ray/DVD) – Well Go USA releases this 2010 Western-tinged Chinese action film starring Wu Jing and Francis Ng … Continue reading →

Legendary martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter to reflect back on his long and illustrious career in both Hong Kong cinema and Hollywood. It’s a worthwhile read, which you can find over at Chinese Films. It’s long been rumored that Yuen Woo-ping and actor Donnie Yen were no longer on good terms, despite Yuen Woo-ping helping give Yen his big break, but that … Continue reading →

There’s a new horror anthology film coming out of South Korea, featuring five tales of terror from five uniquely talented directors, and appropriately enough it’s titled Horror Stories. The trailer is now online and it’s equal turns atmospheric and disturbing. Past works from the filmmakers involved include Epitaph, White, and Memento Mori. Supposedly each story in the film will explore a relevant topic in contemporary Korean society, such as capitalism run … Continue reading →

Just what is the upcoming South Korean horror/thriller Conspirators about? Well, as of right now the plot is anyone’s guess. Some suspect it’s about an organ harvester claiming victims on a cruise ship, while the Asian Wiki has a more cryptic summary of Chinese cruise passengers under siege by ‘pursuers.’ Either way, it sounds like this particular oceanbound trip is going to be anything but smooth sailing. Check out the striking poster … Continue reading →