Martial arts star Scott Adkins (John Wick 4, Ip Man 4, Triple Threat) is back to his “reckoning” antics. In 2012, he starred in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning; in 2020 came Dead Reckoning; now comes Day of Reckoning, a thriller heading our way next year.
In Day of Reckoning, Adkins is part of an ensemble cast that includes Billy Zane (Titanic) and country star Trace Adkins (The Lincoln Lawyer). Oddly, the director Continue reading
RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2025
On March 3, 2025, 88 Films is releasing a Blu-ray (Region A/B) release for 1970’s Play it Cool, a little-seen gem by one of Japan’s most highly regarded directors of the 1960s, Yasuzō Masumura (Giants and Toys, Irezumi), a filmmaker known for his social satires and powerful portrayals of women.
Play it Cool is a chic and erotically charged drama starring popular Japanese singer of the day Mari Atsumi as a college girl negotiating her way through Continue reading
“Black Cat II” Theatrical Poster
Director: Stephen Shin
Cast: Jade Leung, Robin Shou, Zoltan Buday, Bob Wilde, Alexander Skorokhod, Tatiana Chekhova, Mike Miller, Jack Wong Wai-Leung, Wan Seung-Lam
Running Time: 90 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Despite Black Cat’s middling box office results, it wasn’t enough to deter D&B Films from continuing to push Jade Leung as a bankable action lead for the 1990’s, and just a year later we’d get a sequel in the form of Black Cat II – The Assassination of President Yeltsin. The production brought back D&B’s executive director Stephen Shin as director, and if anything doubles down on the globetrotting location shoots, keeping America as the setting (before being turned into an assassin in the original, Leung was a waitress at a New York truck stop diner), and having the primary plot play out in Russia.
As a sidenote, at the time of writing in 2024 the good folk at 88 Films released Black Cat II on Blu-ray during the same year, perhaps showing a sense of humour in their timing to put a movie out that shows the American government doing all it can to protect the Russian president. Times have certainly changed. The release is worth noting though as it’s one of the few times for the sequel to be made available with its original English audio, of which the majority Continue reading
The Crow | 4K UHD (Paramount)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the 4K Ultra HD for The Crow, a 1994 thriller from director Alex Proyas (I, Robot) that stars Brandon Lee (Legacy of Rage, Rapid Fire) and Ernie Hudson (The Ghostbusters). The film is often overshadowed by the death of Lee, who was tragically wounded on set.
Based on a series of cult comic books by James O’Barr, The Crow stars Lee as Eric Draven, a rock guitarist who is killed, along with his fiancée, on the eve of their wedding and returns from the dead as “The Crow” to seek revenge.
The Crow also stars David Patrick Kelly (Warriors), Michael Wincott (Nope), Rochelle Davis (Revenge of the Devil Bat), Bai Ling (Maximum Impact), Jon Polito (Miller’s Crossing), Laurence Mason (True Romance), Tony Todd (Candyman), Michael Continue reading
Only the River Flows | Blu-ray (Picture House)
Now available is Picture House’s Blu-ray (Region B) for Only the River Flows, a 2023 thriller directed by Wei Shujun (Ripples of Life) that’s based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel, Mistakes by the River. For U.S. audiences, the film will be released on DVD from KimStim.
1990s small town China. A woman’s body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe’s mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here?
Director Wei Shujun’s murky throwback film noir, gritty, textured film grain captures the pulpy proceedings. Torrents of rain envelop the characters as they descend into madness in pursuit of the truth. Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and Continue reading
Yokohama BJ Blues | Blu-ray (Radiance)
Now available from Radiance is the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for Yokohama BJ Blues, 1981 Japanese thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Eiichi Kudo (13 Assassins).
When his police detective best friend is killed, down-at-heel private eye and part-time blues singer BJ (Yusaku Matsuda, The Game Trilogy) gets the blame. He must start his own investigation to clear his name, but what he uncovers is a tangled web involving crooked cops, drug-dealing gangsters, the city’s underground gay and biker scenes, and even his own past.
A loose remake of Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye that also draws from Visconti’s Death in Venice, this was Matsuda’s break with his action hero image. Samurai movie veteran Eiichi Continue reading
On January 21, 2025, Lionsgate Limited is partnering up with Quentin Tarantino for Remastered 4K SteelBook Editions of Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Jackie Brown, and a semi re-release of Reservoir Dogs.
There was some speculation if the upcoming 4K version of the Kill Bill films will include the long-awaited Whole Bloody Affair (Tarantino’s edit of both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 as one film, complete with new footage), but judging from the newly released Continue reading
2023’s Kill Boksoon is getting the “expanded universe” treatment with Mantis, an upcoming spin-off that’s being helmed by newcomer Lee Tae-Seong, with co-writing writing help from Byun Sung-hyun (The Merciless), the writer and director of the original.
Mantis is set in the same contract killer world as Kill Boksoon. While the latter explores the story of Gil Bok-soon struggling to balance her life as a single mother and assassin, Mantis shifts the spotlight to a contract killer named Continue reading
Hi-YAH!, Well Go USA’s very own Asian/martial arts streaming channel has just announced their New Releases for the month of December
If you want to give Hi-YAH! a go, visitors of this site can use the promo code “CITYONFIRE” for a FREE 30 Day trial!
Read on for the full list of New and Exclusive Continue reading
“The Beheaded 1000” Theatrical Poster
AKA: The Executioner
Director: Ting Shan-Hsi
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Siu-Ho, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Monica Chan Fat-Yung, Wu Ma, Pauline Wong Siu-Fung, Sun Ya-Tung, Shen Hai-Rong
Running Time: 105 min.
By Paul Bramhall
One of the more intriguing propositions to come out of the early 90’s, on the surface at least The Beheaded 1000 offers up a Taiwanese take on the Hong Kong blend of wuxia and fantasy that it did so well at the time. The blue lighting is prominent, there’s a wacky assortment of characters, and there’s even a raft of imported HK talent like Chin Siu-Ho, along with A Chinese Ghost Story luminaries Wu Ma and Joey Wong (ok, technically she doesn’t count because she is Taiwanese, but we’re going with it). However looks can be deceiving, and those clocking in expecting the typical new wave wuxia style madness involving ridiculously complex wirework, silk billowing in slow motion, and bodies exploding into colorful powder, may leave disappointed.
The Beheaded 1000 would mark the 10th and final collaboration between director Ting Shan-Hsi and star Jimmy Wang Yu, a partnership that had endured for more than 20 years. Not that their collaborations were necessarily well spaced out. After working together for the first time as director and star on 1972’s Furious Slaughter, over the course of the same year and 1973 they’d crank out 7 titles, including the classic Knight Errant. Continue reading
“The Gardener” Theatrical Poster
Steven Seagal was just a cook in Under Siege. Daisy Ridley is just a window cleaner in Cleaner. Now, Jean-Claude Van Damme is just a gardener in The Gardener (aka Le jardinier), a French action comedy from director from David Charhon, who worked with the “muscles from brussels” in 2021’s The Last Mercenary.
The film also stars Michaël Youn (Divorce Club), Carl-Philipp Wengler (Blutspur Antwerpen), Matthias Quiviger (Medellin), Nawell Madani (Stuck Together) and Kaaris (Rogue City).
The Gardener hits Amazon Prime Video France on January 10th, but we do expect the film to make its way to U.S. audiences soon. Until then, don’t Continue reading
“The Prosecutor” Theatrical Poster
After a disappointing turn with Polar Rescue, we’ll soon be seeing martial arts star Donnie Yen (Sakra, Chasing the Dragon) kick some actual ass in Mandarin Motion Pictures and China’s Huace Pictures’ The Prosecutor (aka Misjudgement) an action thriller from filmmaker Ho Pong Mak (Breakout Brothers trilogy), who co-directs along with Yen himself.
The Prosecutor is a poor young man is wrongly charged with drug trafficking after being deceived. An ex-prosecutor investigates the case, uncovers a corrupt lawyer team’s scheme, and restores justice despite obstruction from evil forces.
The Prosecutor also stars Kang Yu (Wu Xia, Big Brother), Julian Continue reading
In February 2025, Australian label Chameleon Films is releasing the Blu-ray for Sparrow, a 2008 Hong Kong film from Johnnie To (Three, Office, Running on Karma). The label’s past titles have been All Region, so there’s a chance this one will follow suit.
The most sheer delight you will ever experience from a Johnnie To film? Filmed over three years between other projects, this story of men who pick pockets and a woman who steals hearts is nothing less than a love letter to Hong Kong. Shot on the streets and Continue reading
The Beast Hand | Blu-ray (Cleopatra Entertainment)
RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2025
On April 15, 2025, Cleopatra Entertainment is releasing a Blu-ray (Region A) for The Beast Hand, a 2024 horror film from director Taichiro Natsume (Love Shark).
Osamu (Takahiro Fukuya), a Japanese day laborer, is forced into a lifestyle of crime. Unfortunately, when he crosses the wrong gangsters, they punish him by Sword, amputating his left hand in the process. Osamu’s ex-girlfriend Koyuki takes him to an underground Doctor deep in the dark bowels of the city to attempt a transplant. But the new hand has a mind of its own, much to the dismay of the gangsters responsible – as Osamu pursues his revenge.
The Beast Hand also stars Misa Wada (Pure Japanese), Yôta Kawase (Demolition Girl), Yûya Continue reading
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