Great news for Korean film fans! Courtesy of Asian Movie Pulse, the Korean Film Council is reporting 2011 as a record-breaking year for the domestic box office in South Korea. Even though Korean movies faced stiff competition from Hollywood blockbusters like Harry Potter and Transformers, they managed to perform exceedingly well at theaters. Among the top box office contenders last year were historical action epic War of the Arrows, Sunny, … Continue reading →

Top Korean directors Kim Jee-Woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, I Saw the Devil) and Yim Pil-Sung (Antarctic Journal, Hansel & Gretel) are collaborating on a science-fiction anthology film titled Doomsday Book. The movie will weave together three high concept stories – one directed by Jee-Woon, the next by Pil-Sung, with the two directors collaborating on the final tale – that deal with topics like robots, zombies, and the end … Continue reading →

LA Times reported that Sony is negotiating a deal with Chronicle’s Josh Trank to bring Venom back on the big screen. The popular Marvel Comics villain – created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane in 1988 – made an uneventful appearance in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, leaving fans of the character disgruntled. Back in 2009, Gary Ross expressed interest in making a Venom movie, but one thing led to another and he ended … Continue reading →

Crazy Heart’s Scott Cooper has an exciting future ahead of him. He’s currently in pre-production stage to direct a revenge flick called Out of the Furnace, which will star Christian Bale and is being produced by Tony Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio. Zoe Saldana, Casey Affleck, Robert Duvall and Viggo Mortensen are supposedly in talks to co-star. According to sources, the plot of Out of the Furnace involves a man (Bale) who … Continue reading →

Color me intrigued by the trailer for How to Kill a Young Adult Novelist, a forthcoming  Japanese thriller that opens in select theaters in that country on April 19th. Only trouble is it’s impossible to find out anything about this movie’s plot, so for now the trailer will have to speak for itself. At the very least we know it stars Asao Norihiko, Ishibashi Shinji, Jeison Nami, and Matsunaga Minori. … Continue reading →

Hello, dear readers. There’s not much in the way of Asian cinema this week but no doubt there are some interesting releases, whether it’s a ’96 Chuck Norris environmental action movie or Danny Trejo and Steve Austin teaming up for some direct-to-video goodness. So here are your Blu-ray and DVD new releases for the week of 3/6/12: ASIAN CINEMA Blade of Kings (Blu-ray/DVD) – your friends at Well Go USA … Continue reading →

Jesse V. Johnson, director of straight-to-video favorites Pit Fighter, The Last Sentinel and Green Street Hooligans 2, is currently filming The Package, which stars Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren. According to imdb.com, the film centers around a gangster-employed courier (Steve Austin) who must deliver a mysterious package while being chased by a horde of unusual gangsters. The Package also stars Ip Man 2’s Darren Shahlavi, The King of the Kickboxers’ Jerry … Continue reading →

Writer/director Yang Jung-ho (assistant director on 2007’s Hellcats) is ready to unleash a dark vision into Korean theaters on March 8th. That’s when Mirage makes its debut and, from the looks of the trailer over at Beyond Hollywood, it’s going to be a wild and Lynch-ian ride. The film follows a writer who wakes up drunk during the subway ride to his hometown to accept a literary award. Back on … Continue reading →

Bey Logan, respected expert on Hong Kong action cinema, has just uploaded some obscure promotional footage for Bruce Lee’s Game of Death. The purpose of the 1976-produced footage was to show buyers and film producers that there was one more Bruce Lee movie that was waiting to be completed. If originally released in 1976, the promo would mark the 2nd time (after the 1973 documentary Bruce Lee: The Man and the … Continue reading →

Finally, the wait is almost over! Fox’s World Cinema label presents The Yellow Sea on DVD, Na Hong-jin’s ultra-violent follow up to his critically acclaimed 2008 film, The Chaser. Sadly, there is no word of a Blu-ray release at this time. Check out the trailer and be sure to read our review.

Here’s some unexpected but welcome Asian cinema news. The Korean Film Archive has announced a partnership with Google that will see several classic Korean films streaming on Youtube with English subtitles in May. The selection on Youtube will include a range of Korean movies released from the years 1958 to around 1996, including “A Flower in Hell” (1958), “Woman of Fire” (1971), “The Day a Pig Fell in the Well” … Continue reading →

We’re a day late but never a buck short here at City on Fire with your new releases list. There’s some great stuff for Asian film fans this week, whether it’s finally being able to see “The Yellow Sea” with subtitles or Andy On and Luxia Jang kicking ass in “King of Triads.” So, let’s get cracking. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 2/27/12: ASIAN … Continue reading →