"The Expendables" Japanese Theatrical Poster

The third installment of the highly popular Expendables film series is due to open on August 15th. With Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas added to the cast, there aren’t many action heroes left in Hollywood yet to appear in the franchise. If there is to be a fourth, which there most likely will be, here are some names we’d like to appear in it:

Floyd Mayweather: The undefeated pound-for-pound king Mayweather would be a perfect adversary for the Expendables. Once he’s fought Marcos Maidana (which shouldn’t be too difficult since he’s 1/16 favorite with Titan Bet to win the fight), he should make a foray into films. He’d be the perfect opponent for Toll Road, played by UFC fighter Randy Couture. If those two were to throw it down, it would be insane. The king of boxing versus one of the true greats of mixed martial arts is something we all want to see.

Jackie Chan: We all love Jackie Chan. He’s one of the true action legends, not just in Hollywood, but around the globe. However, we’d like to see him play a villainous role. The reason being is that we desperately want to see him and Jet Li square off. We have only seen the duo in one film thus far (the 2008 epic The Forbidden Kingdom). Now that film was great but the pair were on the same side; we are still waiting for them to battle one another. A bad guy role in the Expendables would saturate this desire. Who wouldn’t want to see the two greatest living martial arts actors go at each other?!

Steven Seagal: Alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Seagal was the greatest action movie actor of the 1980s/1990s. He is the one name that everyone wants to see added to the cast. It’s not for want of trying on Stallone’s part; he’s offered Seagal a role in all three films but has thus far been turned down. Nonetheless, with acting work starting to dry up for Seagal he surely cannot continue to turn down a role of this magnitude. If a fourth film does materialise and he is offered a part hopefully he will jump at the offer. We want to see Sly take on Steve.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: Currently the highest earner in Hollywood, Johnson is without doubt the modern day action hero. At 6’5 in height and weighing 260lb, Johnson is a monster personified and the perfect opponent for Arnie. A former WWE champion against a former Mr Olympia has every fan boy salivating at the mouth. It would also be great to see the old guard taking on the new players.

Manny Pacquiao: Our next choice is Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao. Professional boxer. Politician. The only eight-division world champion ever. He’s been hailed as both the “Most Exciting Boxer” and “Fighter of the Decade” by the public and worldwide media. If Pacquiao vs. Mayweather never happens, the two dueling it out in an Expendables movie would be the next best thing. Unlike Mayeather, Pacquiao has the acting experience – not only has he appeared in a San Miguel Beer commercial with Expendables’ own Jet Li, but he also starred in a string of films in the Philippines – the guy was made for cameras!

Don “The Dragon” Wilson: Sure, this 11-time World Kickboxing Champion /Martial Arts Hall of Famer may not be a Blockbuster name like Schwarzenegger or Stallone, but there’s no doubt in our minds that he is just as qualified. Besides, if fellow low budget action star Gary Daniels had his time in Expendables, why not Wilson? After all, his 30+ films – including Bloodfist and Ring of Fire – were profit-making “Blockbusters” in their own right. The inclusion of Wilson definitely makes more sense than Liam Hemsworth, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, come on, Wilson is the real deal. Period!

Donnie Yen: Dubbed in the Hong Kong media as “The strongest man in the Universe,” Donnie Yen is another martial arts star that everyone is dying to see in an Expendables flick. Like Seagal and Chan, Yen’s name has always been linked to the franchise. Judging from his busy schedule ahead – and the fact that he’s practically fine with being a living legend on his own stomping grounds – we doubt he’ll give in. Part of us can’t blame him, the other part of us is saying, “Just do the darn film, will you?”

Tony Jaa: Tony Jaa, martial arts star of Ong Bak, is quite possibly the most physically amazing guy living today. We’re talking near-super human abilities. The possibility of Jaa appearing in the Expendables franchise are pretty decent. Considering he has a part in Fast and the Furious 7, he’s obviously not shying away from being part of an ensemble cast in a Hollywood movie. In addition, he’s currently working with Dolph Lundgren in an upcoming film, so he’s already made one strong connection to the franchise. No pun intended.

Iko Uwais: All the other action stars better watch out! There’s a new Sheriff in town, and his name is Iko Uwais. This Silat (Southeast Asian fighting method) martial arts expert took the world by storm in the critically-acclaimed, ultra violent martial arts action film, The Raid. With The Raid 2 just around the corner, Uwais has proved himself to be up there with the Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa. Sylvester Stallone himself is even an admirer of The Raid, a film he personally set out to top with Expendables 3! True story.

Runners up…

We obviously can go on and on, but here’s a list of other names that we would love to see in future Expendables movies: Bolo Yeung (Bloodsport, Enter the Dragon), Michael Biehn (The Terminator), Richard Norton (City Hunter), Chow Yun Fat (The Killer), Carl Weathers (Predator), Jean Reno (Leon: The Professional), Kurt Russell (Big Trouble in Little China), Mr. T (Rocky 3, The A-Team), Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja), Benny “The Jet” Urquidez (Dragons Forever), Philip Rhee (Best of the Best) and Sho Kosugi (Revenge of the Ninja).

There is no doubt that The Expendables 3 is going to be an action packed thrill ride and a box office success, so if there is to be a fourth, we can expect a whole host of action names attached. We’ll see what happens…

"Ameera" Chinese theatrical Poster

Film Smash has the scoop on the latest action flick  by Xu Hong Hui’s (Crazy in Love) titled Ameera, which stars Collin Chou (Special ID), Patricia Hu (Angel Warriors), Ambrose Hsu (Fulltime Killer), Andrew Lin (The Man with the Iron Fists), Bryan Leung (Badges of Fury) and Paul Chun (Shinjuku Incident).

Here’s the basic plot according to Film Smash: Following the titular government agent who, after failing her latest mission, must go on the offensive and prevent a terrorist attack. Head over to Film Smash for the trailer.

According to Film Combat Syndicate, Ameera hits Chinese theaters on April 4, 2014.

Update: Watch the new trailer.

“Rurouni Kenshin 2” Japanese Theatrical Poster

We have word that the new sequel trailers for Keishi Otomo’s Rurouni Kenshin 2 and 3 are now online. If you’re not familiar with 2012’s Rurouni Kenshin, it’s an adaptation of the popular 90′s samurai action manga/anime series (known as Samurai X in America) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story revolves around a former assassin who resorts to using the dull end of his blade to subdue his enemies.

New and returning cast members include Takeru Satoh, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Emi Takei, Yusuke Iseya, Munetaka Aoki and Yuu Aoi and Yosuke Eguchi, with Min Tanaka, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Kaito Oyagi, Maryjun Takahashi, Ryosuke Miura and Lisa Ulliel.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc and Rurouni Kenshin: The End of A Legend Arc will be released in Japan on August 1, 2014 and September 13, 2014, respectively. Watch the trailer, which covers both films.

“The Walking Dead” Japanese Blu-ray Set

For the past two weeks, AMC’s The Walking Dead has been heading into serious boredom territory. I did not think it was possible to make the character of Daryl seem dull. But the producers behind Dead pulled it off. Even my (once) favorite character Rick, who really needs to discover a razor and a new shirt, has become my least favorite character. This season seemed to be heading into post-Darabont Season Two territory. That is, until “The Grove.”

The opening scene of episode 14 was creepy as hell. Good sign. Then we realize that this is going to be another “let’s only follow these characters” episode. So no Rick again, which gives him more opportunity to shave. But enough of that. This episode presented something that I never saw coming. And I don’t mean the “burnt walkers” whom looked cool and scary at the same time. “The Grove” introduced us to a new kind of evil. An innocent evil. Lizzie saw this new world of the undead in a whole different light. At first I thought she was trying to become the typical annoying kid of the series. But her reasoning was different. When she is hovering over her sister, I thought to myself, “no way Mika is dead.” But she was and there was no doubt in my mind that Lizzie had to go. But then I thought, “no way they’re going to kill off TWO kids in the same episode. That is unheard of.” But Carol did the deed in true Godfather II style. The episode was intense, scary and brilliantly acted. Special shout out to Chad Coleman, who is just as great here as he was in The Wire.

But I save my biggest applause for how the producers chose to handle the confession. Far too many shows have stretched these predicaments for weeks. Smallville was great at that. I call it the “soap opera approach.” The perfect example of this technique is the film People Like Us. Chris Pine plays a man who discovers he has a sister. Of course instead of just telling her, he decides to get close to her and her kid and drag it out for what seems like a five hour running time. But if he did, I guess there wouldn’t be a terrible movie to torture us with. But getting back to Dead, Carol tells Tyrese the truth about the deaths in the prison and it is settled, even if only temporarily. Kudos for not dragging it out for another eighteen weeks.

With more episodes like this, The Walking Dead might be able to reclaim that Season One glory.

"Fighting" Chinese Theatrical Poster

An upcoming film by Jiang Ping (Looking for Jackie Chan) called Fighting – also known as A Better Tomorrow (no relation to the famous John Woo film of the same name) – mixes romance, fantasy, war and martial arts in one odd package.

Fighting stars Peter Ho (The Monkey King), Lu Yi, Wei Yi (Stool Pigeon), Lam Wai (Legendary Amazons), Hou Yong (Drug War) and Yvonne Yung (The Hero of Swallow). Fighting also marks one of the last appearances by the legendary Wu Ma, who passed away last February.

Film Smash (via Film Combat Syndicate) breaks the news of two new trailers: Trailer 1 | Trailer 2

Update: Check out the new poster.

"Last Flight" Chinese Theatrical Poster

If you’re into airplane thrillers like Turbulence, Snakes on a Plane, Flightplan and most recently, Non-Stop, then fasten your seat belt for Last Flight. First time director Vincent Zhou opens with a bang in his upcoming English-language Chinese film that stars Ed Westwick (Children of Men), Zhu Zhu (The Man with the Iron Fists) and Leon Li (Out of Inferno).

Here’s the official plot: As an old Boing 747 takes off for its last red-eye flight from a small Pacific island, unusual events occur intermittently. While all the passengers are panic, the captain and the chief flight attendant try to lead the investigation.

It’s hard not to notice the outdated special effects and questionable acting in Last Flight’s trailer, but who are we to judge? It’s possible that these noticeable shortcomings are part of the film’s charm. We doubt it, but we’ll eventually find out when it’s released on March 21, 2014 in China.