"Dragon Eyes" Teaser Poster

I think we can agree we all could use a little more puncking and kicking in our lives. Thankfully, After Dark has us covered. They’re known for their yearly selection of horror films but for 2012 After Dark is launching their very first ActionFest – and it starts today!

At select theaters across the country and On Demand right now, you can check out a stellar line-up of new action flicks featuring fan favorite stars like Scott Adkins, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and Cung Le. Don’t believe me? Just check out the lineup of films:

Dragon Eyes – the new film from director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) features MMA champ Cung Le and martial arts icon Jean Claude Van Damme in a rip-roaring action yarn: Watch now at Amazon.

El Gringo – Scott Adkins of Undisputed III fame finds trouble South of the Border in a movie co-starring Christian Slater and a whole lot of empty bullet cartridges: Watch now at Amazon.

Stash House – for the first time in years, Dolph Lundgren is back to playing a bonafied Bad Guy with a capital “B” as he terrorizes a young couple who accidentally move into his prized drug den: Watch now at Amazon.

Transit – Jim Caviezel (yes, Jesus himself from The Passion of the Christ) learns how far he’ll go to save his family in this tense thriller that sees the action spill on and off the road: Watch now at Amazon.

Philly Kid – a MMA flick about one young fighter’s Rocky-esque climb to fame. Featuring an appearance by Michael Jai White!: Watch now at Amazon.

"Warrior" American Theatrical Poster

Beyond Hollywood gives word that Gavin O’Connor, director of the critically acclaimed MMA fight flick Warrior starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, is slated to direct a new action-thriller titled Yakuza. The film will be set in post-Tsunami Japan and follow what happens when an American intelligence agent gets caught up in the seamy underworld of Japanese organized crime. Well, this definitely sounds promising.

Gavin O’Connor will rewrite the script currently penned by Chap Taylor, while Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment will produce. There’s no word on how swiftly O’Connor will mount Yakuza, since he has a few projects currently in the works, but those of us craving more Asian-centric Hollywood films are hoping it’s soon.

"Helpless" Cast Photo

The film never ceases to compel. As the layers of deceit are peeled back, Byun seems in complete command of her material. Her narrative dexterity flaunts an audacious Chinatown-like clue to the missing woman’s whereabouts without pre-empting the climax. -Russell Edwards, Variety

Byun’s film uses [Miyabe Miyuki’s] book as a framework upon which to hang more current issues… Byun also floats questions of how much we can truly ‘know’ those closest to us. – Elizabeth Kerr, The Hollywood Reporter

A Hitchcock-ian, film noir –Andy Klein, FilmWeek on 89.3 KPCC

HELPLESS

Following a limited release at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles, CJ Entertainment America is launching the moody Korean thriller Helpless on May 11, 2012 in select theatres across North America. The film was a critical darling and unexpected box office champion for two consecutive weeks when it was released in Korea earlier this year.

SYNOPSIS

In the blink of an eye, my fiancé vanished.

Mun-ho (LEE Sun-kyun) and Seon-yeong (KIM Min-hee) are a couple engaged to be married who pull over at a rest stop on their way to meeting Mun-ho’s parents. When Mun-ho returns to the car with coffee, he finds the car door flung open in the pouring rain with the engine still running – his fiancée is nowhere to be found. Frantic after discovering her apartment emptied out and that her previous workplaces don’t even exist, Mun-ho enlists his cousin and former police detective, Jong-geun, to help him find her. As they delve deeper, they discover that piecing together the shards of this woman’s puzzle produces a horrifying picture.

THE TALENT

Known for her sensual portrayal of female obsession in Ardor (2002), director BYUN Young-joo ends her eight year hiatus and returns to form with Helpless. Having audaciously founded her own production shingle Boim Pictures in her early twenties, BYUN has an impressive track record of films that bring previously silent voices to the screen. Byun was fascinated upon reading Kasha (火車), the novel of best-selling Japanese author Miyabe Miyuki, and almost immediately got in touch with the author to pursue a film adaptation. The result is a haunting picture of an incident that goes beyond the thriller genre and speaks to our modern society.

HELPLESS May 11 Theatre Release List

AMC Ridgefield Park (NY)
AMC Empire (NY)
AMC Showplace Niles (Chicago)
AMC Alderwood (Seattle)
Cineplex Silvercity Coquiltam (Vancouver)
AMC Yonge & Dundas (Toronto)

ONLINE

Visit the film’s website for trailers, clips, photos and more information: www.helpless2012.com

"The Zodiac Mystery" Chinese Theatrical Poster

We may be at least a decade on from the heyday of Asian horror, but the genre is clearly alive and well. Far East Films has the teaser trailer for a new Chinese-language suspense film titled The Zodiac Mystery and, thankfully, it looks to avoid most of the genre’s cliches, with the trailer instead highlighting the slick cinematography and an attractive cast being menaced by the supernatural.

The plot concerns a group of friends who are dying off one after the other; the survivors must figure out how the deaths are linked to the victim’s zodiac signs before it’s too late. The Zodiac Mystery arrives from director Sheng Zhimin (2006’s Bliss). The cast includes Tong Dawei, Gan Wei, Qin Hao, Kimi Qiao, and Ada Liu. The film opens in China this July 2013.

"The Taste of Money" Korean Theatrical Poster

Far East Films has the first trailer for the new Korean-language film from Im Sang-Soo, the director of 2010’s critically acclaimed The Housemaid. His next project, titled The Taste of Money, is an erotic thriller about a young man hired by a wealthy family to take care of their business-related and private matters.

This being a thriller and all, it’s not long before the poor sap is pulled into a world of deception, lust, and murder. Be advised that the trailer is definitely NSFW. The film opens in Korea this May 2012.

Update: A new full-length (and still NSFW) trailer in preparation of the film’s premiere at Cannes. Sorry there’s no English subs, though. Thanks to 24 Frames Per Second for the story

Kristen Stewart

Snow White and the Huntsman’s Kristen Stewart has signed on to play the lead in Cali, an ultraviolet drama that’s reminiscent of films like True Romance and Bonnie and Clyde.

According to Variety, the plot of Cali concerns a couple who decide to make a chunk of money by producing and selling a fake snuff film (a motion picture genre that depicts the actual murder of a person or people); of course, their plan backfires and before they know it, they find themselves mixed up with homicidal porn stars, dangerous businessmen, stoner vet techs and an unstoppable killing machine in a cowboy hat.

Cali comes from the mind of Michael Diliberti, a rising screenwriter responsible for writing 30 Minutes or Less. Diliberti has recently been hired by Todd Phillips (The Hangover II), Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) and directing duo John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Crazy Stupid Love) for screenwriting work. In addition, Diliberti has just sold his script for Little White Corvette, which Easy A’s Emma Stone is supposedly starring in.

BREAKING NEWS: Variety reports that Alpha Dog’s Nick Cassavetes will direct Cali.

"Kick-Ass" Korean Theatrical Poster

Ain’t It Cool relays news via Deadline that Never Back Down director Jeff Wadlow has written a screenplay for Kick-Ass 2, which Universal Pictures might just greenlight and slot Wadlow to direct.

Despite the fact that director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman won’t be returning, Universal expects that principal cast-members Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl), and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist) will don the costumes for their respective characters once again. In fact, cameras could start rolling as early as this fall.

"Blazing Famiglia" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Recent Japanese films like Drop and Takashi Miike’s Crows: Episode Zero have carved out their own little niche of bone-crushing movies about Japanese high school delinquents who like to drink, cuss, and get into brawls. A new film headed for Japnaese theaters this fall is attempting to put a fresh spin on this now well-worn subgenre.

Blazing Famiglia is all about what happens when those same delinquents grow up, get old, find working class jobs, and have snot-nosed teens of their own. The trailer for the film promises plenty of action and heavy dramatic content. The cast includes Yoshimi Tokui, Kento Hayashi, and Sadao Abe. Blazing Famiglia opens in Japan on September 8th, 2012.

"Don't Click" Korean Theatrical Poster

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been over a decade since Japanese films like Ringu (1998) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Kairo AKA Pulse (2001) explored the notion of the supernatural interacting with the living via technology, and did it so well. Even Takashi Miike’s 2003 film One Missed Call was a nice little update on this particular subgenre, though it didn’t seem to have quite the same influence.

Now here we are with the forthcoming Korean effort Don’t Click, about an internet video of a necromantic ritual that starts strangely affecting those who watch it. Watching the trailer, It’s hard not to wonder if the film will end up feeling a bit ‘been there, done that.’

Then again, technology continues to grow leaps and bounds, and the way we interact with other people has only become more impersonal since the early 00’s thanks to the advent of smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets. Perhaps the time is ripe for a new horror film to capitalize on this.

Don’t Click has purportedly been delayed for almost a year since its intended August 2011 release, but it should finally arrive in Korea on May 31, 2012. At the very least, I love the poster – which is probably why I’m posting about the movie in the first place.

Update: My goodness, we’ve got another full-length trailer for this movie. Looks spooky!

BREAKING NEWS: Three scary new posters for the movie over at Beyond Hollywood.

The Front Line Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

This week sees the release of two high profile Asian films and not much else, unless you’re a fan of the “Underworld” series. But hey, let’s get cracking. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 5/8/12:

ASIAN CINEMA

The Front Line (Blu-ray/DVD) – Well Go USA brings this 2011 critically acclaimed Korean War-era drama to North America

Shock Labyrinth 3D (Blu-ray/DVD) – “Grudge” director Takashi Shimizu takes a detour into 3D with this 2009 tale of terror

FOREIGN CINEMA

Murder Obsession (Follia Omicida) (Blu-ray) – RaroVideo USA offers this 1981 giallo in hi-definition

La Haine (Blu-ray) – the Criterion Collection offers this 1995 film about life on the fringe in Paris, starring Vincent Cassel

Reykjavik to Rotterdam (DVD) – the 2008 Icelandic crime thriller that became the basis for the Mark Wahlberg flick “Contraband”

Naughty Teen (DVD) – a voyeuristic love triangle develops in this vintage Italian sex comedy

Amador (DVD) – a 2010 Spanish black comedy about a young caretaker who finds a way to keep working even after her client dies

Cry of the Heart (Le cir du coeur) (DVD) – a 1974 slice-of-life drama from France about a single mother in search of love

MAINSTREAM

Underworld: Awakening (Blu-ray/DVD) – Kate Beckinsale dons skintight black leather one last(?) time in the 2011 installment of the vampire vs. werewolf franchise

CULT

42nd Street Forever (Blu-ray) – Synapse Films presents three hours of trailers for the wildest and most out there grindhouse and exploitation movies

CLASSICS

Tora! Tora! Tora! (Blu-ray) – the 1970 film about the events leading up to Pearl Harbor, starring Joseph Cotten

HORROR

Ganja & Hess: Kino Classics Remastered Edition (Blu-ray/DVD) – a landmark 1973 “blaxploitation” film that deals with vampirism in a smart and allegorical way

Mother’s Day (Blu-ray/DVD) – a 2010 remake of the obscure 80’s Troma horror film, starring Rebecca De Mornay

Playback (Blu-ray/DVD) – Christian Slater co-stars in this 2012 horror flick about a group of high school students who uncover a dark secret via video tape

The Shrine (DVD) – a 2010 horror movie about cults and demonic possession that has garnered praise online

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