American Genre Film Archive to release Blu-ray for classic kung fu rarities ‘Shaolin Invincibles’ and ‘Seven to One’

Shaolin Invincibles & Seven to One | Blu-ray (AGFA)

Shaolin Invincibles & Seven to One | Blu-ray (AGFA)

In March, Shaolin Invincibles & Seven to One | Blu-ray AGFA/Vinegar Syndrome is releasing a Blu-ray collection for 1977’s Shaolin Invincibles and 1973’s Seven to One.

Collectively, the films are directed by Hau Chang (Furious Monk from Shaolin) and star Carter Huang (The Skyhawk), Chia Ling (Lady Karate), Dorian Tan Tao Liang (The Eight Escorts) and Chen Hung Lieh (Fantasy Mission Force), Polly Shang-Kwan (The Ghost Hill), Yasuaki Kurata (The Empty Hands) and Bruce Leung Siu Lung (Kung Fu League).

Official details:

A gonzo martial arts double feature from the vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA)!

Shaolin Invincibles – Wizards! Gorillas! Bloodsplurts! You’ve never seen a Taiwanese Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Universal Soldier: Regeneration | Blu-ray | Only $9.99 – Expires soon!

"Universal Soldier: Regeneration" Blu-ray Cover

“Universal Soldier: Regeneration” Blu-ray Cover

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Universal Soldier: Regeneration (read our review), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski.

Much respect to director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning), who was able to turn a has-been franchise into a badass one with an edge!

A group of terrorists kidnap the Russian prime minister’s children, demanding the release of their comrades. In addition, they have taken over a nuclear power plant and threaten to detonate it if their demands are not met. Thanks to a rogue scientist – and co-founder of the UniSol experiment – the terrorists possess another secret weapon: a Next-Generation UniSol (Andrei Arlovski), that is Continue reading

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Code of Silence | Blu-ray (88 Films)

Code of Silence | Blu-ray (88 Films)

Code of Silence | Blu-ray (88 Films)

RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2023

On May 29, 2023, 88 Films is releasing a Blu-ray (Region B) for Code of Silence (read our review), a 1985 crime thriller directed by Andrew Davis (Under Siege, The Fugitive) and starring the one, the only, Chuck Norris (Slaughter in San Francisco).

This gritty cop flick is highly regarded as one of Norris’ best. The film’s climax is noted for its menacing crime-fighting robot, “Prowler” (hey, it was the 80’s).

Eddie Cusack (Norris) is a Chicago detective who plays by his own rules – a dangerous habit, especially when he breaks the “code of silence” to blow the lid off a deadly police cover-up. Now an outcast, he receives little help from his embittered fellow officers when he’s Continue reading

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

COF PRESENTS: Legendary action star Cynthia Rothrock picks her ‘Top 10 Martial Arts Films of all Time’

Cynthia Rothrock is a cult martial arts star who needs no introduction. Whether it be as a foreigner in a Hong Kong actioner, or as a female in a male-dominated Hollywood action flick, Cynthia was kicking ass long before the phrase “female led action film” became a marketable buzz word.

If you’re here, chances are you know all there is to know about her, so we decided to skip the same old interview questions and ask her what her “Top 10 Martial Arts Films of All Time” are. And her opinion counts because she’s Cynthia fucking Rothrock. Enjoy!


1) Snake in the Eagles Shadow (dir. Yuen Woo Ping, 1978)

“This was the first martial art film that I have seen. My teacher brought me to Chinatown to watch this film and right then and there I fell in love with the Snake movements of Kung Fu. I was also introduced to the films of Jackie Chan who then became my inspiration to use regular objects to fight with as Kung Fu Weapons.”

2) Enter the Dragon (dir. Robert Clouse, 1973)

“This was my introduction to Bruce Lee. I loved his screen charisma Continue reading

Posted in Interviews, News |

Watch Netflix’ New Trailer for Veronica Ngo’s long-awaited Vietnamese action thriller ‘Furies’ (aka ‘Furie’ prequel)

"Thanh Soi" Theatrical Poster

“Thanh Soi” Theatrical Poster

Coming to Netflix in March is Furies (aka Thanh Soi), Veronica Ngo’s (House in the Alley, Furie) semi-related follow-up/prequel to her 2019 actioner Furie (aka Hai Phuong).

This time around, Ngo not only co-stars, but will also direct – through her own production company, Studio68 – passing the lead to a newcomer Dong Anh Quynh, who will be playing the role of a young Thanh Soi (previously played by Trần Thanh Hoa in Furie).

Thanh Soi (read our review) will bring an interesting story about the journey and ‘blackening’ of an innocent child into the most famous criminal in Saigon in the 90s. This is a bold test and rarely appears on the Continue reading

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Tiger Cage Trilogy | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

Tiger Cage Trilogy | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

Tiger Cage Trilogy | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2023

On May 9, 2023, Shout! Factory will release a Blu-ray (Region A) set for Yuen Woo Ping’s Tiger Cage action trilogy, which includes 1988’s Tiger Cage, 1990’s Tiger Cage 2 and 1991’s Tiger Cage 3. 

Collectively, the series is headlined by Jacky Cheung (High Risk), Carol Cheng (Armor of God II: Operation Condor), Simon Yam (Final Run), Donnie Yen (Raging Fire), Rosamund Kwan (Armor of God), Cynthia Khan (Eternal Fist), Sharla Cheung (Cheetah on Fire) and Michael Wong (Knock Off).

Co-stars include Cheung Kwok-Leung, Lo Lieh, David Wu, Robin Shou, Ng Man Tat, Michael Woods, John Salvitti, Leung Kar Yan, Irene Wan and Vincent Lyn.

As stated in our review: Tiger Cage opens with a drug-bust that includes one of the best Continue reading

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Brotherhood of the Wolf | 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

Brotherhood of the Wolf | 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

Brotherhood of the Wolf | 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2023

On May 23, 2023, Shout! Factory is releasing a 3-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K UHD + Blu-ray for Christophe Gans’ 2002 thriller Brotherhood of the Wolf.

The film stars Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier and martial arts Mark Dacascos (Drive, The Driver).

Brotherhood of the Wolf looks like a modern-day Shaw Brothers movie, only filmed in French. The peasant warriors especially resemble Shaw extras, what with their long hair and home-made weapons. Maybe choreographer Philip Kwok had something to do with this. And speaking of choreography, the fights throughout are excellent, though there is the occasional, irritating use of slow motion and other filmic trickery. Not exactly Matrix-like, but close enough. Luckily, everyone sticks to the ground and there’s no Continue reading

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Unlocked (2023) Review

"Unlocked" Netflix Poster

“Unlocked” Netflix Poster

Director: Kim Tae-Joon
Cast: Chun Woo-Hee, Im Si-Wan, Kim Hee-Won, Park Ho-San, Kim Ye-Won, Jeon Jin-Oh, Oh Hyun-Kyung, Ryoo Sung-Hyun, Jeon Ik-Ryung, Kim Joo-Ryung
Running Time: 117 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Ever since the mobile phone became widely available in the late 90’s there’s been no shortage of cinematic offerings to have their plots revolve around the device that we can’t live without. Korea is no different, be it supernatural goings on through 2002’s Phone, time travel themed thrillers or horror like 2015’s The Phone and 2020’s The Call, or a race against time to retrieve incriminating content like in 2009’s Hand Phone. Much like the shift from our old Nokia 3310’s to the latest iPhone (ok, since we’re in Korean territory technically we should say Samsung Galaxy), while the devices may become more advanced and slicker, the plots that they’re placed at the center of largely remain the same.

Which brings us to 2023’s Unlocked, a remake of the 2018 Japanese movie Stolen Identity (which was itself based on a novel by Japanese author Akira Teshigawara), helmed by Ringu director Hideo Nakata. Unlocked doesn’t have quite as experienced a director at the helm, with the production marking the directorial debut of Kim Tae-joon, who so far has spent most of his career on various productions as part of the directing crew (including being the assistant director for 2014’s Office). Adapting a tale that directly plays into how reliant we’ve become on our smart phones, Tae-joon creates an attention-grabbing opening credits sequence that plays over our main characters Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Eureka’s Blu-ray for Hideo Gosha’s 1974 yakuza thriller ‘Violent Streets’ now shipping from Goodie Emporium

Violent Streets | Blu-ray (Eureka)

Violent Streets | Blu-ray (Eureka)

Eureka’s Blu-ray (Region B) for Violent Streets is now shipping from Goodie Emporium! This 1974 thriller comes from director Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) and stars Noboru Ando (New Battles Without Honor and Humanity).

One of the finest directors of Japanese chambara (sword fighting) films, Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast, Three Outlaw Samurai) also directed a number of films in the yakuza genre. The most outstanding of these was Violent Streets; a baroque crime thriller about a retired yakuza who gets pulled into a violent gang war by his former associates.

A former yakuza member, Egawa (Noboru Ando) is now a brooding world-weary nightclub owner. Some of his former associates are released Continue reading

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Arrow’s 4K UHD & Blu-ray for Bernardo Bertolucci’s ‘The Last Emperor’ starring John Lone now shipping!

Goodie Emporium is now shipping Arrow Video’s 4K UHD & Blu-ray for Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 acclaimed epic The Last Emperor, starring John Lone (Year of the Dragon), Joan Chen (Purple Storm), Peter O’Toole (Lawrence of Arabia), Ying Ruocheng (Little Buddha), Victor Wong (Big Trouble in Little China), Dennis Dun (Year of the Dragon), Vivian Wu (The Joy Luck Club), and Ryuichi Sakamoto (New Rose Hotel).

Read the official details below:

Director of The Spider’s Stratagem, The Conformist, and Last Tango in Paris, Bernardo Bertolucci was one of the greats of Italian cinema. In 1987 his acclaimed epic The Last Emperor – made with British producer Jeremy Thomas (Naked Lunch, Crash) – swept the Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Accident Man | Blu-ray | Only $9.99 – Expires soon!

"Accident Man" Blu-ray Cover

“Accident Man” Blu-ray Cover

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Jesse V. Johnson’s Accident Man (read our review). Martial arts sensation Scott Adkins (Debt Collectors, Seized) stars in this film adaptation of Mills and Tony Skinner’s out-of-print UK comic Toxic! 

Mike Fallon is the Accident Man – a stone cold killer and the best at what he does. But when a loved one is dragged into the London underworld and murdered by his own crew, Fallon (Adkins) is forced to rip apart the life he knew in order to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.

Accident Man also stars Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone), Ashley Greene (Twilight), David Paymer (Drag Me to Hell), Amy Johnston Continue reading

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Best Fenton Speakers for Under $200

Are you in the market for a new set of speakers but have a budget of no more than $200? Fenton is one of the most trusted brands in home audio and offers some fantastic speakers within this price range.

Today we’ll explore the best Fenton speaker options available under $200 so that you can upgrade your listening experience without breaking the bank. We’ll highlight features to help you find exactly what you need to suit your tastes and make sure you’re getting top-notch sound quality at an affordable price.

Fenton Savant 55X 

This speaker offers full-range sound, providing deep bass and crystal-clear highs that can fill any room with rich, full sounds. It also offers plenty of connectivity options, including Bluetooth, AUX jack, and optical inputs.

Its portability and durability mean it can fit in any setup, so no matter what type of setup you have, this loudspeaker can bring your audio to the next level. The 60 watt power output ensures you are getting the maximum out of this system without requiring an extravagant amount of power to do it.

Fenton 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System

For music lovers looking for an affordable home audio system, the Fenton 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System is the perfect option. This speaker system comes with all the features of much more expensive models but at a fraction of the price. The speaker set includes four satellite speakers and one subwoofer – great for cinema-style experiences in any room of your house.

Enjoy high-power sound with incredibly clear bass and crisp treble, balanced by adjustable controls that put you in full control of your audio preferences. The system also has options for digital or analog inputs, so it can easily fit whatever type of devices you have.

Fenton 7165 Bluetooth Tower Speakers 

Boasting with vibrant Hi-Fi sound, these speakers offer a wide range of features and functions in an attractive, streamlined design. With integrated Bluetooth, it allows users to stream music wirelessly from any compatible device, while the handy built-in USB port makes it easy to charge multiple devices at once.

The impressive subwoofer provides ample bass response, perfect for rocking out to your favorite tunes without losing fidelity. Allowing you to enjoy your music at its fullest potential without breaking the bank, these speakers are one of the top choices when it comes to budget audio solutions.

Fenton 5800 Full Range Stereo Speakers

These speakers have a robust sound and are versatile enough for any setup. Other advantages include their classic design and solid construction at an affordable price point. They are also small enough to fit into any space and provide powerful audio performance, even in smaller spaces.

The Fenton 5800 produces ample bass without overwhelming the mid-range or highs, making them the perfect addition to any system. So don’t compromise on sound quality just because of your budget – invest in these Fenton 5800 speakers and get superior sound at an unbeatable price!

Fenton Fusion 5 

Fenton’s Fusion 5 speakers are one of the best-sounding audio products available for under $200. With its signature sound that emphasizes clarity in every sound, it is sure to be a hit with any music lover. It uses two 70W power sources to produce clear and powerful audio with low bass frequencies so you can hear each nuance of the music.

The sophisticated design amplifies all sounds evenly while reacting quickly to transient audio, creating warm and natural sound. The Fusion 5 offers exceptional wide frequency response due to its precision-designed port system and critically tuned cabinet. All this makes the Fusion 5 incomparable to any other speakers in the same price range.

Fenton SA6FSX

This model offers powerful sound, advanced cone design, and extraordinary depth that will make any music aficionado swoon. Additionally, this speaker includes top-quality components such as bamboo cabinets and silk tweeters that ensure high-end sound quality.

Whether you’re an audiophile or just looking to upgrade your current system, the Fenton SA6FSX is up to the task. Not only is it easy to install, but it comes in various sizes and can be adapted for wall mount installation depending on where you want to position them.

At under $200, this speaker really stands out from the crowd, and its incredible sound performance makes it a great option regardless of your listening preferences.

Posted in News |

War of the God Monsters | aka The Flying Monster (1985) Review

"War of the God Monsters" Poster

“War of the God Monsters” Poster

AKA: The Flying Monster
Director: Kim Jung-yong
Cast: Kim Ki-ju, Nam Hye-gyeong, Kim Da-hye, Moon Tae-Seon, Kim Uk, Jang Cheol
Running Time: 85 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Korean cinema was in a strange place during the mid-80’s. After military strongman Chun Doo-hwan essentially elected himself as the country’s president in September 1980 following months of martial law and the infamous Gwangju Massacre in May, filmmakers needed to be extra cautious not to be seen as criticising Doo-hwan’s junta-like rule. To try and take peoples mind off the grim direction that Korean politics seemed to be sending the country towards, it was often cited that Doo-hwan introduced a ‘Three S’s’ policy – representing sex, screen, and sport – to keep peoples minds occupied. The policy was perhaps most ironic for the film industry, as while stories about social problems, real life-events, and any political content was strictly banned, restrictions around showing nudity were actually relaxed.

This led to the erotic cinema boom of the 80’s, and in 1985 the licensing system was changed to a registration one, also allowing for many smaller independent production companies to start making movies. This background is worth detailing, since it was 1985 that director Kim Jung-yong decided to release The Flying Monster onto the world, or as it was to be released in the west, War of the God Monsters. Korean kaiju flicks aren’t exactly common, especially one’s made in the 1980’s, however they’re also not unheard of. In 1967 director Kim Ki-duk made Yongary, Monster from the Deep (which would be remade by Shum Hyung-rae in 1999), and anyone Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, Korean, News, Reviews |

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s tumultuous ‘Eagle Path’ to finally see a release after 13 years?

“Full Love” Theatrical Poster

“Full Love” Theatrical Poster

If you’re a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme, chances are you’ve heard of the completed, but unreleased Eagle Path, which is also known as these other 3 titles: Full Love; Soldiers; and Frenchy.

The action drama – produced by Van Damme’s own Rodin Entertainment – is the star’s first directorial effort since 1996’s The Quest. The project was shot on a budget of about $5 million (much of it, financed by Van Damme himself) on location in Thailand and eventually screened out of competition at the Cannes in 2010.

Audiences at the 2010 Cannes screening offered a mixed reaction (watch Van Damme’s intro). There were even some critics who compared the film’s more ‘out there’ sequences to 2001: A Space Odyssey or Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life. Fans had to wonder: had Van Damme gone Continue reading

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Teaser Poster for Will Kaufman’s action thriller ‘Violence of Action’ starring Scott Adkins and Cam Gigandet

"Violence of Action" Teaser Poster

“Violence of Action” Teaser Poster

Martial arts star Scott Adkins (Castle Falls, Boyka: Undisputed IV) is reuniting with his Jarhead 3: The Siege director, Will Kaufman (Sinners and Saints), for Violence of Action. The upcoming actioner also stars Cam Gigandet (Priest, Never Back Down).

Frequent Adkins collaborator Chad Law (Close Range), as well as Josh Ridgway (The Sector), are penning the project. Both writers worked with Adkins’ for Section Eight, as well as the upcoming, Lights Out.

Violence of Action will tell the story of a former SEAL, tormented by a decision he made in Afghanistan, (who) becomes a vigilante in the Big Easy who is brutally taking down a drug gang that is terrorizing his Continue reading

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