Martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2, Headshot, Beyond Skyline) is joining Eiza Gonzalez (Ambulance) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) for Ash, an upcoming sci-fi thriller that’s due to hit theaters in next year!
Directing Ash is musician/filmmaker Steven D. Bingley-Ellison (Kuso, V/H/S/99), who mostly known as his stage name, Flying Lotus. The XYZ/GFC-produced Continue reading
The Valiant Ones | 4K UHD (Eureka)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the 4K Ultra HD for Eureka’s The Valiant Ones, a 1975 film by celebrated Taiwanese filmmaker King Hu, an undisputed master of the genre!
Shot back-to-back with The Fate of Lee Khan (but not released until two years later), it stands as a worthy follow-up to his earlier works Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.
During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (Chao Lei), China’s coastal regions have come under attack by wokou – Japanese pirates under the leadership of the infamous Hakatatsu (Sammo Hung). To combat this threat, the Emperor tasks a trusted general, Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi), with assembling a group of skilled warriors to find and eliminate the pirates. Under the command Continue reading
“Karate Kid: Legends” Teaser Poster
The highly successful motion picture franchise that spawned three sequels, a remake, and a series is getting another reboot – or should we say crossover?
Sony’s new Karate Kid film, titled Karate Kid: Legends, will be directed by Jonathan Entwistle, who has served as a director and executive producer on two popular Netflix original series including I Am Not Okay With This and The End of the F**ing World.
The upcoming film is a continuation of both 2010’s Karate Kid (Jackie Chan/Jaden Smith), and the original franchise (Pat Morita/Ralph Macchio) that took place in 1984’s The Karate Kid, 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II, 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III and in the events Continue reading
“Bangkok Dog” Theatrical Poster
Arriving on Digital on November 12th is Well Go USA’s Bangkok Dog, a Thai-produced martial arts actioner that marks the directorial debut of Chaya Supannarat, who is perhaps best known for producing 2022’s Shadow Master, 2021’s Fast Vengeance, and 2014’s Tekken: Kazuya’s Revenge.
Bangkok Dog stars D.Y. Sao (Shadow Master), who has represented the U.S. National Wushu Team, and has some serious moves thanks to his training across multiple disciplines, including his native Cambodia’s bokator (which was highlighted in 2017’s Jailbreak), kickboxing, and kung fu. Co-starring is Brian Le (The Paper Tigers, Everything Everywhere All at Once), who is also known for his stunt and choreography work.
After intercepting a shipment of drugs from Thailand and discovering five Continue reading
“The Shadow Strays” Netflix Poster
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Cast: Auroro Ribero, Hana Malasan, Ali Fikri, Adipati Dolken, Kristo Immanuel, Andri Mashadi, Chew Kin Wah, Arswendy Bening Swara, Tanta Ginting
Running Time: 145 min.
By Paul Bramhall
When the Indonesian directing duo the Mo Brothers decided to apply their horror genre leanings to the action genre in 2016, the result was Headshot, a movie which immediately grabbed the attention of martial arts cinema fans. While it was far from the first time the 2 genres had been brought together, it arguably was the first for the horror aspect to be so heavily incorporated into the action itself. Taking a cue from Gareth Evans’ The Raid and its sequel, the inherent violence of fighting, and the physical damage that comes from it, were placed firmly at the fore. It was one half of the duo, Timo Tjahjanto, who took the concept and ran with it, unleashing The Night Comes for Us in 2018, a production that fully committed to a slice of martial arts mayhem, presented through the lens of a filmmaker who loves to pile on the gore. The result was a pure shot of adrenaline, and one that many felt would be impossible to replicate.
After rather awkwardly attempting to incorporate the same type of martial arts driven hyper violence into a comedy setting with 2022’s The Big 4, in 2024 Tjahjanto returned to the same kind of gritty backdrop as The Night Comes for Us with The Shadow Strays. While Tjahjanto had been rumoured to be working on a spin-off to his earlier production for a number of years, one which was intended to focus on the female assassin played by Julie Estelle, it’s easy to speculate Continue reading
RELEASE DATE: January 2025
In January 2025, Mondo Macabro is releasing a Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray for Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight, a 1973 action-thriller from director Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman’s Curse).
The legendary actor Tetsuro Tanba (Kwaidan) stars as Shiro, a master swordsman who is weary of the world of samurai honor and samurai killing, and so attempts suicide rather than finishing a fight. He is saved by the Bohachi clan, a gang of pimps who have Continue reading
“High Forces” Theatrical Poster
In the tradition of hijack thrillers like The Delta Force (1986), Passenger 57 (1992), Executive Decision (1996) and United 93 (2006), comes High Forces (aka Crisis Route), an upcoming actioner from Oxide Pang (one half of The Eye and The Eye 2 writing/directing duo, the Pang Brothers).
Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau (Shock Wave 2, Walk on Fire) plays an international security expert who combats against hijackers on board the Airbus A380.
The film also stars Liu Tao (The Foreigner, The Monkey King 3) and Zhang Zifeng (Detective Chinatown, Aftershock).
High Forces is getting a U.S. theatrical release on October 25, 2024 from China Continue reading
“Weekend in Tapei” Theatrical Poster
Writer/director George Huang, who is perhaps best known for the 1994 cult satire film Swimming with Sharks, is teaming with Luke Evans (Dracula Untold, Blitz) for Weekend in Taipei, an actioner Huang co-wrote with Luc Besson (Lucy, Leon: The Professional).
The film also stars Sung Kang (Bullet to the Head), Gwei Lun-Mei (Black Coal, Thin Ice) and newcomer, Wyatt Yang.
The plot follows a “pit-bull” DEA agent working on job in Taipei, who encounters his old flame, a Taiwanese woman named Joey Kang. They haven’t seen each other for 15 years, but now they’re thrown into the action again during a weekend in Taipei (FS.net).
Weekend in Taipei hits Continue reading
Hide your fingers, because Amazon’s Prime Video will soon unleash Like a Dragon, an upcoming six-part, live-action series based on the SEGA videogame franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The series – directed by Masaharu Take (100 Yen Love) and Takimoto Kengo (Kamen Teacher) – is set in two time periods, 1995 and 2005, and follows the life, childhood friends and the repercussions of the decisions of a fearsome and peerless Yakuza Continue reading
“Panda Plan” Theatrical Poster
Director: Luan Zhang
Cast: Jackie Chan, Yanbo Han, Ce Shi, Xiang Wei, Temur Mamisashvili, Aleksandra Smirnova
Running Time: 100 min.
By Paul Bramhall
In one of the initial scenes from Jackie Chan’s latest big screen outing, Panda Plan, a character says, “It’s a commercial movie, it needs to entertain.” In many ways the line could be interpreted as director Luan Zhang’s way of announcing his intentions to the audience, and it’s far from being the only meta-aspect of the production. If 2023’s Ride On was Chan’s own way of playing a character who acts as a reflection of his own life, then his latest takes that journey one step further. How? The answer is surprisingly simple – in Panda Plan Jackie Chan is playing Jackie Chan. We’re not talking about the 90’s era Jackie Chan where movies like First Strike and Mr. Nice Guy had his character referred to as Jackie, but there was still some vague notion that he was supposed to be playing a fictional character. No, here he’s world-famous action movie star Jackie Chan, and a zoo on the fictional Noah Island has asked him to adopt a baby panda.
Not just any baby panda mind you, this one is a CGI baby panda with 700 million followers on social media, and features the rare trait of having black eyes of different sizes, apparently making it “the only one in existence.” Naturally, this also means that some Arabs want to get their hands on it, and are willing to pay whatever price is asked for to get it. So they hire Continue reading
The Roundup: Punishment | Blu-ray (Capelight)
RELEASE DATE: December 10, 2024
On December 10, 2024, Capelight Pictures is releasing the Blu-ray for The Roundup: Punishment (read our review), the fourth film in The Round Up franchise that started with 2017’s The Outlaws, 2022’s The Roundup and 2023’s The Roundup: No Way Out.
Directed by Heo Myung-Haeng (Badland Hunters), The Roundup: Punishment stars Don Lee (Unstoppable), Park Ji-Hwan (The Roundup: No Way Out), Lee Beom-Soo (The Roundup: No Way Out) and Lee Ji-Hoon (The Roundup: No Way Out) with the new cast additions Kim Moo-Yul (Ballerina) and Lee Dong-Hwi (Broker).
While investigating the operators of a drug trafficking app, Detective Ma (Lee) and his team discover a link between a murder case in the Philippines Continue reading
“Furious” VHS Cover
Visual Vengeance is working on a Blu-ray for Furious, a 1984 cult martial arts gem from filmmaker Tim Everitt (Too Fast Too Young).
Furious is the first film to star brothers Simon and Phillip Rhee (4 years before the pair found the greener pastures of Hollywood in the Best of the Best franchise).
The rest of the film’s cast consists mostly of the Rhees’ own students and friends, including a then-unknown Loren Avedon (No Retreat, No Surrender II), former World Kickboxing Champion, Howard Jackson (Code of Silence), former Miss Philippines, Arlene Montano (L.A. Streetfighters) as well as a quick cameo by Susanna Hoffs (of the popular 80s band, The Bangles).
This title will soon Continue reading
“Born a Ninja” Promotional Poster
Visual Vengeance is prepping a Blu-ray for IFD Films’ Born a Ninja, a martial arts film – produced somewhere between 1988 and 1991 – from director Law Chi (Thunderbolt) with some copy ‘n paste help from Godfrey Ho (Manhattan Chase).
In the film (aka American Commando Ninja), a group of Russians, a Chinese terrorist group and a Japanese ninja are trying to capture a Japanese WWII scientist and steal his formula for germ warfare.
The film stars Meng Fei (Young Tiger), Patrick L’Arcent (Commando the Ninja), Hung Kuan (Young Dragons: Kung Fu Kids), Daniel Garfield, Henry Kwan, Kelvin Wong (High Risk) and Laura Continue reading
“The Nine Demons” Theatrical Poster
Visual Vengeance will soon be releasing a Blu-ray for The Nine Demons, a 1984 post-Shaw Brothers film from legendary Hong Kong director Chang Cheh (Death Ring, The One Armed Sworsman).
After selling his soul to the devil, Joey (Ricky Cheng Tien Chi, Five Element Ninjas) is given the power to control 9 demons. With their help, Joey must save his childhood friend Gary from a bloody massacre.
The Nine Demons also stars Chris Lee Kin Sang (Full Alert), Lee Chung Yat (Death Ring), Lu Feng (Ninja Condors), Chiang Sheng (Kid with the Golden Arm) and Chui Tai Ping (House of Traps).
This title will soon be available at The Goodie Emporium, a U.S.-based online Continue reading
The Double Crossers | Blu-ray (Eureka)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for The Double Crossers (read our review), a 1976 Golden Harvest actioner from director Jeong Chang-hwa (The Devil’s Treasure, King Boxer) that stars South Korean martial artist Shin Il-ryong (The Dragon Lives Again) and featuring the legendary Sammo Hung (The Magnificent Butcher).
Following his late father’s murder, police officer Detective Lung (Shin) discovers that both of his parents were involved in a smuggling ring – and that his father was killed by its leader, a violent criminal now living in Hong Kong under the name Wang (Chao Hsiung, The One-Armed Swordsman). Determined to avenge his father’s death, Lung resigns from the police force to take matters into his own hands. Teaming up with a smuggler who was once a close friend and partner-in-crime Continue reading
on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’Thanks for giving me some titles I haven't seen yet to check out (Once Upon A…
on Tony Jaa will make America great again! Well Go USA is giving ‘Striking Rescue’ a U.S. theatrical release in DecemberThis is actually a pretty good movie. The plot and the acting are all cinema-… on Tony Jaa will make America great again! Well Go USA is giving ‘Striking Rescue’ a U.S. theatrical release in DecemberAmen. Some of the best action movies out of China/HK are going straight to st…
on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’Based on that notion, there haven’t been any good Chinese martial art films s…
on High Forces (2024) ReviewLOL!!! =)
on High Forces (2024) Reviewi couldn't be more focused, i'm getting high right now. on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’That being said, it looks vastly more appealing to me than any martial arts f…
on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’I agree. They need to stick to their martial arts garbage, which all looks th… on Netflix ‘n KILL! Streaming giant awakens the English-language remake of Kim Jee-woon’s 2005 hit ‘A Bittersweet Life’I would feel better about this if an auteur type of film maker or someone who…
on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’Tom Cruise is a Samurai... you forget ;) on Tony Jaa will make America great again! Well Go USA is giving ‘Striking Rescue’ a U.S. theatrical release in DecemberThere have been some pretty good, straight to streaming "low budget" movies.…
on The final ‘Mission Impossible’ we reckon? Watch the action-packed Teaser for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’This isn't an asian or martial arts film. COF not on fire. on High Forces (2024) ReviewNot imprtant! please focus on what's important!
on High Forces (2024) Reviewi honestly don't get the reference. only thing i find about DEI on the intern…
on Jackie Chan – Cameo Story: His Top 10 HK Cinema Cameos"I’d love to see 88 Films, Eureka or Arrow pump out a special edition of “Fea…
on Tony Jaa will make America great again! Well Go USA is giving ‘Striking Rescue’ a U.S. theatrical release in DecemberIn china, the movie go straight online, which mean it is low budget. Low budg… on Die Hard in a bar unit? Watch action scenes from Scott Adkins’ latest thriller ‘Take Cover’I rented Take Cover on Vudu a few days ago, and it’s decent. Certainly much b… on We always thought they looked alike! Scott Adkins joins Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Joe Carnahan’s thriller ‘RIP’I hope Adkins has a sizable role. Affleck has to be familiar with his filmogr… on We always thought they looked alike! Scott Adkins joins Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Joe Carnahan’s thriller ‘RIP’are you sure it's not Good Will Hunting 2? on The Tai Chi Master (2022) ReviewI’m glad that Wu Yue and Zhang Kai are playing the same characters as in Woo-…
on What’s going on with Donnie Yen’s ‘Ip Man 5’? Let’s speculate!IP MAN 5 🔥 on ‘Paradox’ and ‘Ip Man 4’ star Wu Yue kicks ass in the Trailer for Well Go USA’s ‘Tai Chi Master’ on Digital on November 12You talkin' to me? There isn't anyone else here, so you must be talkin' to me…
on Love…. exciting and new! 88 Films announces Blu-ray for Teruo Ishii’s 1969 cult thriller ‘Love and Crime’jaydevsethi18@gmail.com on Tony Jaa will make America great again! Well Go USA is giving ‘Striking Rescue’ a U.S. theatrical release in DecemberI’m happy that WellGo is releasing this to theatres in the US on December 6.
on There’ll be HELL to pay in the Teaser Poster for Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s ‘Diablo’ starring Marko Zaror and Scott AdkinsSorry, Andrew, just now seeing this. I’m with you. I imagine that they’re gon…
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