"The Tower" Korean Theatrical Poster

I don’t know about you but here at Cityonfire.com we love a good disaster movie. From The Towering Inferno to The Poseidon Adventure, there’s nothing like seeing a bevy of celebrities forced to fight against the elements. I mean, that has to be the reason we paid good money to see 2012 in theaters, right?

Well, the booming Korean film industry is taking another stab at the genre, no doubt following on the success of 2009’s Tidal Wave. Their latest disaster epic, The Tower 3D, arrives from Kim Ji-hun, the director of Section 7. You’ll recall that movie was about a group of oil riggers beleaguered by a computer-generated sea monster. While Sector 7 failed to endear itself to critics, it cleaned up at the box office and went on to become the highest-grossing Korean movie in China.

Now Kim Ji-hun is back with a movie that looks to take a liberal influence from The Towering Inferno. Disaster strikes during a ‘White Christmas’ party at a luxurious high-rise building when the two helicopters sprinkling fake snow crash into each other. Rescue workers must race against time to get everybody out before it all goes up in flames. In 3D!

Beyond Hollywood has the full scoop, including pictures and a promo reel from the studio, CJ Entertainment. Expect The Tower 3D in Korean theaters sometime this year. The first teaser trailer is here, as well as the poster!

The new full-length trailer is now online for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy some impressive new posters for The Tower. Thanks to 24 Frames Per Second.

BREAKING NEWS: Apple has the North American trailer for The Tower available in glorious Quicktime. The film opens in limited release this weekend. Check this website for theatrical listings.

Daniel H. Wilson's "Robopocalypse"

Thor’s Chris Hemsworth is being handpicked by Steven Spielberg to star in Robopocalypse, a sci-fi story set in the aftermath of a robot uprising, based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Daniel H. Wilson.

The novel’s description is as follows: When the Robot War ignites, humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us…and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.

Looks like Cyberdyne has finally met its match! We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any updates regarding Spielberg’s Robopocalypse, so stay tuned!

Updates: THR reports that Robopocalypse has been postponed indefinitely. Spielberg spokesman Marvin Levy says the project is “too important and the script is not ready, and it’s too expensive to produce. It’s back to the drawing board to see what is possible.”

"One on One" Coming in 2013

If The Raid taught us anything, it’s that the Indonesian martial art Silat looks amazing on camera and you don’t need a Hollywood-size budget to make a great action film. Twitch reports on a gritty new Malaysian film that looks to be taking these lessons to heart. Plot and cast details are scarce, but the title roughly translates to One on One. You won’t want to miss the first trailer.

The film appears to be a fusion of The Raid‘s kinetic action direction, the jaw-dropping stuntwork of Tony Jaa’s films, and the ‘anything goes’ energy of Jackie Chan’s fight scenes. If One on One can manage to live up to the promise of this trailer, it should be a martial arts film worth celebrating.

The Assassins Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

A New Year means New Releases, so let’s get cracking! There are plenty of films coming out this week on Blu-ray and DVD.

If you’re interested in any of the following titles, you can support the site by ordering through our affiliate. We appreciate it!

Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 1/08/13:

ASIAN CINEMA

The Assassins (Blu-ray/DVD) – in this 2012 Chinese-language historical epic, Chow Yun Fat plays Cao Cao, a feared military leader who must contend with several plots against his own life. On Blu-ray and DVD from Well Go USA

FOREIGN

Stalingrad (Blu-ray/DVD) – this acclaimed 1993 German film follows the battle of Stalingrad, one of the most brutal conflicts of World War II. Now in hi-def

Sleep Tight (Blu-ray/DVD) – in this 2011 Spanish-language thriller, a disturbed doorman sets out to make a woman in his building miserable, as subtly as he can

Lapland Odyssey (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2010 road movie is the highest-grossing comedy in the history of Finnish cinema

Found Memories (DVD) – a quiet character study out of Brazil comprises this 2011 Portuguese-language film

The Spirit of the Beehive (DVD) – the Criterion Collection delivers this 1973 Spanish drama, long considered the finest Spanish film of the 70’s

Bloody Flesh (DVD) – this ultra-obscure, low-budget 1983 horror movie from Spain receives a DVD release

MAINSTREAM

Dredd (Blu-ray/DVD) – the fan favorite British comic book character once portrayed by Sylvester Stallone returns to the big screen in this 2012 sci-fi/action flick

Frankenweenie (Blu-ray/DVD) – Tim Burton’s latest is this 2012 black-and-white claymation fable based on his early short film

Stolen (Blu-ray/DVD) – Nicolas Cage does the whole “Taken” shtick in this 2012 action/thriller, co-starring Malin Akerman and Josh Lucas

Compliance (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 indie thriller, based on actual events, depicts the real life nightmare that occurred when a prank caller’s demands were taken seriously by the staff at a fast food restaurant

Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden (Blu-ray/DVD) – impatient for Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” to arrive on a screen near you? Maybe try this more low-budget 2012 offering, co-starring rapper Xzibit

Game Change (Blu-ray/DVD) – Julianne Moore and Ed Harris star in this 2012 dramatization of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s rise to national infamy

Hit & Run (Blu-ray/DVD) – Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd headline this 2012 car-themed action/comedy

Guns, Girls and Gambling (Blu-ray/DVD) – a 2011 independent action/comedy co-starring Christian Slater and Gary Oldman

Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers (Blu-ray/DVD) – a 2011 World War II thriller based on a top secret paratrooper mission that launched prior to D-Day

CULT

Flatland (DVD) – a 99 minute cut of the obscure 2002 sci-fi/action television show, starring Dennis Hopper (“Blue Velvet”) and Francoise Yip (“Rumble in the Bronx”)

A Dangerous Place (DVD) – this 2012 indie thriller chronicles a young woman’s frightening ordeal when she discovers the pharmaceutical corporation she works for is intentionally poisoning the public

NEW TO BLU-RAY

Brothers Grimm (Blu-ray/DVD) – cult director Terry Gilliam made a brief stab at the mainstream with this 2005 fantasy thriller starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger

Fear (Blu-ray) – Mark Wahlberg plays the boyfriend from hell in this popular 1996 thriller, co-starring Reese Witherspoon and William Peterson

Cape Fear (Blu-ray) – the gripping 1962 original that inspired Martin Scorsese’s 90’s remake. Starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum

The Bone Collector (Blu-ray) – Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie star in this 1999 serial killer thriller

Two-Lane Blacktop (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection presents the hi-definition rerelease of the 1971 existential road movie, co-starring Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys

Scrooged (Blu-ray) – Bill Murray stars in this comedic 1988 spin on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

CLASSICS

The Jazz Singer (Blu-ray) – this 1927 feature is generally considered the first ever ‘sound’ movie

Mrs. Miniver (Blu-ray) – an Award-winning 1942 British melodrama about life during wartime

Grand Hotel (Blu-ray) – Greta Garbo stars in 1931’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture

HORROR

House at the End of the Street (Blu-ray/DVD) – Jennifer “Hunger Games” Lawrence headlines this 2012 horror/thriller

Jack & Diane (Blu-ray/DVD) – in this 2012 indie horror feature, a blossoming romance between two young women causes one of them to transform into a deadly werewolf

Ghoul (DVD) – three young kids might be the last defense between their hometown and an evil entity in this 2012 adaptation of Brian Keene’s horror novel

Interested in any of these movies? If so, we hope that you’ll consider ordering from our affiliate to help support this site. Thank you!

"The Vampire Lovers" Blu-ray Cover

Shout! Factory presents the Blu-ray for the Hammer Film Productions’ of The Vampire Lovers on April 30th.

A female vampire with lesbian tendencies ravages the young girls and townsfolk of a peaceful hamlet in eighteenth century Europe who, years earlier, killed off her fellow vampires. A rousing hunt for the vampiress ensues as a group of men follow her bloody trail of terror through the countryside. Adapted from J. Sheridan LeFanu’s novella “Carmilla,” The Vampire Lovers stars Ingrid Pitt, George Cole and Peter Cushing.

Now this “rather erotic Hammer chiller” (Leonard Maltin) appears on Blu-ray for the first time… If you dare, come into a twilight world of unspeakable horror and taste the deadly passion of the blood-nymphs!

Bonus Content: Feature Length Commentary with Roy Ward Baker (Director), Tudor Gates (Writer) and Ingrid Pitt (Carmilla) moderated by Jonathan Sothcott.; Excerpts from the novella Carmilla, that inspired the film, read by Ingrid Pitt; Original Theatrical Trailer; New Interview with Madeline Smith (Emma); New Interviews with Hammer Films Scholars; Original Radio Spot; 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.78:1); (BD)/DTS Master Audio / 1970 /88 mins.

Cityonfire.com received the above press release from Shout! Factory.

"Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters" Brazilian Theatrical Poster

MOVIE: AICN has posted the first image from Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a dark and action-packed take on the classic fairy tale. The film stars Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) as the titular brother and sister duo, who are now all grown up and hunting witches as a daytime job.

Director Wirkola is most famous for his Norwegian zombie movie Dead Snow, in which a group of vacationing friends ran afoul of undead Nazis. Perhaps he can succeed where Terry Gilliams’ The Brothers Grimm failed and deliver a fresh, modern take on an old fairy tale.

Updates: Dark Horizons notes the film has now been delayed indefinitely. Looks like it’s been pushed back to January 11, 2013. Watch the stylish and action-packed first trailer, courtesy of Apple Quicktime. Feast your eyes on a new Red Band trailer and poster. Introducing the Brazilian poster.

BREAKING NEWS: The new Red Band trailer is now available, courtesy of Collider.