If you were wondering what it’d look like if a professional baseball player lost everything in a gambling scandal and had to start working for the Korean mob, apparently the answer is ‘a lot of stylishly photographed ass-kicking.’ That’s the premise behind the upcoming Korean action/drama For the Emperor and you won’t want to miss the trailer. Lee Man-ki plays the lead role and you may remember him from 2011’s … Continue reading →

What do you get when you combine Dario Argento’s giallo classic Opera with the Academy Award-winning Black Swan, adding a dash of Asian horror creepiness? You just might find out by watching the trailer for Hungry Ghost Ritual, an upcoming Hong Kong horror picture starring Nick Cheung. The hard-working actor was last seen in Dante Lam’s psychological crime thriller That Demon Within. In Hungry Ghost Ritual, which hits Hong Kong … Continue reading →

Can’t say I ever saw this coming. John Woo is reportedly planning to direct a remake of Seijun Suzuki’s 1963 film Youth of the Beast. Woo’s version will carry the title Day of the Beast. Here’s where things get crazy (and multi-national): the remake is set in Tokyo and sees a Western outsider become involved in a turf war between the Yakuza and the Russian mob. Day of the Beast will … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: Written and directed by Gareth Evans, The Raid 2: Berandal picks up right where the first film left off and follows Rama (Iko Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force. Additional cast members include Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle, Ryuhei … Continue reading →

Dante Lam is arguably the leading action director in Hong Kong right now (sorry, Wilson Yip) thanks to movies like Fire of Conscience and The Stool Pigeon. Lam is a veteran of the industry going all the way back to 1998’s Beast Cops, but he’s managed to invigorate his career of late by taking well-worn Hong Kong action tropes and reenergizing them with an immediate, Bourne-esque visual style. Dante looks … Continue reading →

Back in 2007, former 21 Jump Street star Dustin Nguyen managed to reinvent his image by playing a nearly invincible martial artist bad guy in the Vietnamese hit The Rebel. Now, Nguyen is parlaying his status in the burgeoning Vietnamese action scene by stepping behind the camera for an ambitious project. Previously titled Monk on Fire, but now known under the title of Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (AKA … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) squares off against the Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and the powerful Electro (Jamie Foxx) while struggling to keep his promise to leave Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) out of his dangerous life. Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is expected release date for this 3D sequel is May 2, 2014. Updates: Official look at Spider-Man’s new mask | First set photos. | Spidey’s nemesis Norman Osborn is back and ready to wreak some havoc. … Continue reading →

Comic book movies continue to do blockbuster business around the globe, but there’s also a sense that audiences might be suffering from superhero fatigue. Some analysts suggest that video games may be the next undiscovered country for Hollywood to mine for gold. Sure, there have been a few video game adaptations here and there – Mortal Kombat and Silent Hill come to mind – but lately we’re seeing high-profile game … Continue reading →

After the ultra-violent, ultra-bleak bloodbath that was 2010’s I Saw the Devil, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Korean revenge movie has seen and done it all. Well, at least one movie is out to prove that the genre still has a few tricks up its sleeve: opening this Friday, March 13th, in South Korea is a twisted new thriller titled Monster. The movie follows a somewhat developmentally … Continue reading →

Despite hitting the ripe age of 51 years-old, Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau is showing no signs of slowing down. After headlining Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame and making a cameo appearance in Cold War, Andy Lau is, once again, throwing himself back into the action. His next film is a high-octane action/thriller set in modern day Hong Kong. Titled Firestorm, the movie follows … Continue reading →

If you’ve been a connoisseur of Asian cinema as far back as 2005, you’re likely to recall the glory days of Palisade Tartan’s ‘Asia Extreme’ label. The beloved DVD series helped introduce a number of now-classic Asian titles – including Oldboy and A Tale of Two Sisters – to the North American market. Fans were understandably upset when Tartan closed their doors in the States back in 2008. Although the company … Continue reading →

As cinematographer on Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, it’s safe to say Wally Pfister had a key part in shaping the stylish visual palette of the Dark Knight saga. Now, the talented director of photography is breaking out on his own to helm the science-fiction film Transcendence. But Pfister isn’t completely flying solo: he’s brought along regular Nolan players such as Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy, not to mention the star … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: In Wong Jing’s The Man From Macau (aka God of Gamblers 4; Casino; or From Vegas To Macau), Chow Yun-fat returns to the character of Ko Chun, a world-famous gambler, so renowned and talented at winning various games of chance, that he is referred to as the God Of Gamblers. Nicholas Tse (New Police Story) and Chapman To (Men Suddenly in Black) co-star. It’s no stretch of the imagination to say that … Continue reading →

Back in 2007, director Takashi Miike continued his successful streak of adapting violent manga into live-action films with Crows Zero. The movie told the story of warring factions at an all-boys school and their brawling ways. Although the film was considered a very ‘loose’ adaptation of its source material, Miike’s mix of over-the-top humor and rawdy fisticuffs earned the film a strong cult following. A follow-up came with Crows Zero … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: After returning home from a traumatic tour of duty in Iraq, John (Cung Le) finds himself rescuing a local call girl from a group of violent Aryan Brotherhood pimps. Having killed several of them in the process, John and his family are now the prime targets of Hollis, the ruthless criminal leader of the group. The director of Puncture Wounds (aka A Certain Justice or Justice) is James Coyne, an up-and-coming filmmaker … Continue reading →