"Nameless Gangster" Korean Theatrical Poster

Beginning March 30th, Yoon Jong-bin’s Nameless Gangster will be hitting U.S. theaters. This 2012 Korean mobster flick stars Old Boy’s Choi Min-Sik and Chaser’s Jung-woo Ha. Nameless Gangster is noted as being the first Korean film to sell so many tickets in such a short time in 2012.

Nameless Gangster revolves around a corrupted customs officer who loses his job, but immediately meets greener pastures when he comes across a gangster who has connections with the Yakuza. The two form a partnership and rise in the world of drug trafficking; of course, with every rise, there’s a fall. Check out the trailer.

For show times in your area, please visit the official site. Special thanks to 24framespersecond for spreading the word.

"The Road" Theatrical Poster

Indiewire reports Freestyle Releasing and Freestyle Digital Media will give the Filipino thriller The Road, a day-and-date theatrical and VOD release May 11.

Directed by Patient X’s Yam Laranas, The Road has been noted not only for delivering a terrifying experience, but also for its erie atmosphere. According to imdb, the plot revolves around a murder case, which is reopened, when three teens vanish in an area where a gruesome killing took place three decades ago.

Intense melodramas aside, Filipino films – or better yet, Tagalog movies – are not exactly known for their cinematic quality. Many titles are often looked down upon due to their point-and-shoot corniness and their inability to establish even a small degree of originality. Hopefully films like The Road will open the door for some of the better Tagalog movies out there. Check out the trailer.

"Over My Dead Body" Korean Theatrical Poster

There are no English subtitles in this new trailer for the forthcoming Korean crime thriller, Over My Dead Body. But guess what? I don’t need a translation to know that this looks like one wild and interesting film. It also stars one of my favorite Korean actors, Ryu Seung-beom (The Unjust, No Mercy). He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t even know how to turn in a bad performance.

The film is apparently about two men whose fates become linked thanks to a shady corporation that’s making ill-use of the recently deceased. Head over to Far East Films for a more detailed synopsis and cast list as well. Over My Dead Body lands in Korean theaters on March 29th.

Update: A new trailer with English subs as well as a detailed plot synopsis. Now we know what the hell this thing is about!

"Desert Island" Chinese Theatrical Poster

The Chinese film industry continues its love affair with the horror genre with the forthcoming movie, Desert Island. Find out what happens when a group of old college friends stage their reunion on a yacht, only to have it shipwrecked on a remote island. Not only do they have to deal with dwindling food supply and tensions within the group, but it looks like someone may be stalking them on this supposedly ‘deserted’ island as well.

Over at 24 Seconds, you check out the poster and some stills from the film. Desert Island will wash ashore in Chinese cinemas on April 13th. We’ll hit you up with the trailer when it becomes available.

Kim Hyeong-joon-I's "The Scent"

Forgive the convoluted headline. It just means that Kim Hyeong-joon-I, the director of No Mercy – a 2010 Korean thriller currently streaming on Netflix Instant in HD – is back with a new film. Titled The Scent, the movie is about a private investigator who faces a personal and professional crisis when his wife wants to leave him for another man and he’s framed for a murder he didn’t commit. Those aren’t problems you or I would like to have but, hey, this is what makes for compelling drama!

Over at Beyond Hollywood, you can catch the first batch of high-quality images from the film. The cast includes Park Hee-soon, Park Si-yeon, Joo Sang-wook, Kim Jeong-tae, Lee Han-wi, and Kwang Soo. Hopefully a trailer for The Scent is soon to follow. It’s in Korean theaters this April.

Beyond Hollywood has the trailer. No English subtitles but there’s plenty of humor, suspense, dangerous dames, and music with a serious 70’s-ish Shaft vibe.

Updates: Beyond Hollywood has two new stylish and sexy posters.

"The Legend of Love and Sincerity" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Takashi Miike, who pumps out an average of 3 films a year, may not have a flawless track record, but with films like 13 Assassins and Audition, he has proven to be a master of his craft.

Beyond Hollywood gives us the first look at his latest movie, The Legend of Love and Sincerity, which hits Japanese theaters on June 16th, 2012. Judging from the trailer, the film looks like a combination of Romeo & Juliet, Crows Zero and Grease 1 & 2. Yes, you heard that right, it’s part love story, part gangster tale and part musical.

The Legend of Love and Sincerity is based on the manga by Ikki Kajiwara. It’s also a remake of a Shigeyuki Yamane’s Japanese movie of the same name, which was made in 1974. Without further ado, check out the trailer.

Battle Royale & Battle Royale II: The Complete 4-Disc Collection Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

We’re totally on time and kicking ass with this week’s new releases list. Get ready for “Battle Royale,” Bruce’sploitation, and more serial killers than you can shake a stick at. Are you ready? Here are your Blu-ray and DVD new releases for the week of 3/20/12:

ASIAN CINEMA

Battle Royale: The Complete Collection (Blu-ray/DVD) – the director’s cuts and theatrical cuts of both “Battle Royale” and “Battle Royale II,” in one Blu-ray set from Anchor Bay. Hot damn!

Battle Royale (Blu-ray/DVD) – don’t want to bother with the inferior “Battle Royale II”? Stick with the original 2000 modern classic on Blu-ray or DVD

Private Eye (DVD) – Pathfinder Pictures presents this 2009 Korean detective thriller set in the 1900’s that’s marketed as Korea’s answer to “Sherlock Holmes”

Secret Pleasures: Four Asian Films about Love, Longing and Fishhooks (DVD) – in this four DVD set, you receive: “Electric Shadows,” “The Isle,” “Ghosted,” and “The Personals,” courtesy of First Run Features

Lost on the Island (AKA Mapado 2) (DVD) – an off-the-wall 2007 Korean comedy that’s been labelled “cruel and twisted”

Red Persimmons (DVD) – a 2004 poetic Japanese documentary about the packaging of persimmons in a tiny Japanese village, it wasn’t completed until after the director’s passing

The Dragon Lives Again (DVD) – hey, what do you know, a Bruce’sploitation flick! This 1977 kung fu movie, dubbed into English for DVD, features a Bruce Lee clone fighting off the undead and other hellish warriors

TELEVISION

Scent of a Woman (DVD) – the popular Korean TV romance is now on DVD, featuring the stars of “My Lovely Sam-soon” and “My Girl”

FOREIGN CINEMA

Letter Never Sent (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection presents this sweeping 1959 Russian epic from director Mikhail Kalatozov

Gainsbourg (Blu-ray/DVD) – a 2012 biopicture about the legendary French singer, Serge Gainsbourg (played by Eric Elmosnino in the film)

Sidewalls (DVD) – a 2011 Argentinian romantic comedy that mixes mediums (film, photography, art) and pays homage to the city of Buenos Aires

Little Girl (AKA “La Pivellina”) (DVD) – a new brand of Italian neorealism (neo-neorealism?) is explored in this 2009 film about a little girl abandoned and adopted by a circus troupe

Amor En Transito (DVD) – no product description for this 2010 Spanish-language film but it looks like a thriller and the cover promises “Be careful what you wish for”

What You Don’t See (DVD) – another DVD from Vanguard Films with no product description, but the cover promises that this 2009 German-language film is an “atmospheric chiller”

MAINSTREAM

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Blu-ray/DVD) – director David Fincher re-imagines the bestselling Swedish novel with his own brand of unsettling dread. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Blu-ray/DVD) – Gary Oldman stars in this critically acclaimed 2011 espionage drama from the director of “Let the Right One In”

Carnage (Blu-ray/DVD) – Roman Polanski’s 2011 film about parents who are just as misbehaved as their children features an all-star cast including Kate Winslet and Christopher Waltz

A Lonely Place to Die (Blu-ray/DVD) – IFC Midnight presents this 2011 thriller about a group of mountain climbers who decide to rescue a little girl they find starving and alone, only to become the target of her kidnappers

CULT

Roadracers (Blu-ray/DVD) – for the first time on home formats! Back in 1994, “Desperado” filmmaker Robert Rodriguez made this Showtime movie about rebellious young racers with David Arquette and Salma Hayek

Puppet on a Chain (DVD) – an obscure 1971 thriller that posits itself as a James Bond-style adventure

Frauleins In Uniform (DVD) – a 1973 Nazi’sploitation style flick, on DVD from Cheezy

This is Not a Movie (Blu-ray/DVD) – Edward Furlong stars in this 2011 self-aware stab at pop culture and the end of the world. Featuring music by Slash of Guns ‘N Roses fame

HORROR

Strip Nude For Your Killer (Blu-ray) – your friends at Blue Underground present this 1975 Italian horror film starring genre stalwart Edwige Fenech, now in hi-def

The Hills Have Eyes 2 (Remastered Edition) (Blu-ray) – Redemption Films offers Wes Craven’s 1985 slasher sequel on remastered Blu-ray

Splintered (Blu-ray + DVD combo/DVD) – this 2010 UK creature feature has earned kudos over there for its tale of a mythical Wales beast come to life

Classic Splatter Pack (The Drive-in Massacre/The Driller Killer) (DVD) – CFS Releasing offers two nasty little 70’s slashers together on DVD

Satan’s Slave (Uncut Edition) (DVD) – Katrina’s Nightmare Theater presents the uncut version of this 1976 horror flick

Funeral Home (DVD) – a 1981 horror film in the classic Eighties slasher mold

Jarring (DVD) – a 2009 indie serial killer movie from Vanguard Cinema

Claustrofobia (DVD) – Seminal Films provides this 2011 paranoid thriller set in a young woman’s apartment

Won Ton Baby (DVD) – when a prostitute gives up her baby and sets her sights on a cleaner lifestyle, she has no idea her offspring will become a parasitic killer in this 2010 creature flick

The Ritual (DVD) – in this 2010 ‘found footage’-style horror film, a fugitive serial killer grooms a young hustler to be his successor

The Museum of Wonders (DVD) – a brutal revenge plot unfolds when a circus dwarf realizes his wife has only married him to steal his money in this 2010 horror flick

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"Gabi" Korean Theatrical Poster

Directed by Tell Me Something’s Chang Yoon-Hyun and based on a 2009 novel by Kim Tak-Hwan titled Russian Coffee, Gabi (or Coffee) is a historical thriller that revolves around the assassination attempt of King Gojong.

The film is set in the 19th century, during the Joseon Dynasty, when coffee was first introduced to Korea. Although Gabi is primarily a drama/mystery, the marketing choice for the trailer seems to be filled with a decent amount of action and some very cool music.

Gabi stars A Better Tomorrow’s Joo Jin-Mo, The Seven Swords’ Kim So-Yeon, Hansel & Gretal’s Park Hee-Soon and Uninvited’s Yoo-Sun. The film opened in South Korea last week. Check out the trailer.