Film Combat Syndicate

It was last year in August that Warner Bros. announced it would finally move forward with a return to the big screen for popular RPG franchise, Dungeons & Dragons for Warner Bros. and Hasbro. Now, word from The Tracking Board Writes that the studio has found a director in Rob Letterman who has since proven himself in raking in close to $160 million dollars for last year's childrens' fantasy novel franchise adaptation, Goosebumps.

Director Saurabh Varma's new Hindi thriller, 7 Hours To Go, is hitting local theaters in May. Shiv Pandit leads the cast along with actor Vipin Sharma and actresses Sandeepa Dhar and Natasa Srankovic with a story centered on a man who arrives in Mumbai in search of a job only to witness a crime and end up taking seven hostages of his own in a series of awry events.

Game creator Sakaguchi Hironobu's brainchild, Final Fantasy, has stood the test of time for nearly 30 years. That's a pretty long time to keep a brand going and I'm sure the crew over at Square Enix isn't complaning; The epic saga has sprawled with a wide variety of canon and spin-off games, as well as animated films that have each garnered the attention of its fans, and following its most recent game release back in June, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the game franchise's staple over at Square Enix are preparing to release a fourth animated feature film in the form of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV this Fall in lieu of the upcoming PS4 and XboxOne game this September.

It's been a while since filmmaker Cho Jin-kyu stirred the pot with Korean gangster romp, My Wife Is A Gangster - still a favorite to date. He's got a few titles under his belt within the crime comedy having last directed Man On The Edge in 2013, but now he's back and in sprawling fashion with the China/South Korean production, Sweet Sixteen, based on Yue Zi's 2010 internet novel publication.

China's got a bit of ground to cover if it's going to stampede cinemas with armies of CGI jungle cats. All else aside, we get director Li Xiaojun at the helm of his latest action adventure Xuan Yuan: The Great Emperor.

As of today, this summer's release of director William Kaufman's direct-to-DVD war thriller, Jarhead: The Siege, will precede what looks like another impending partnership between Kaufman and action star Scott Adkins. As Deadline reports, The Returner will feature Adkins in the role of John Piper, a Prohibition-era speakeasy owner murdered along with his family for defying Al Capone, only to be mysteriously brought back from life with nine lives to spare and a chance to avenge himself and his family.

What do you get when you put a graphic novel author, a Wall Street vet and a film and television producer in the same room? You get ideas. What kind? Well, how about Victorian-era sci-fi and action with franchise potential? How about towering crew-operated mechas of the late 19th century?

This year, I've found myself a new hobby in catching up with as much anime that I've missed in the last fifteen years or so as I possibly can. I'm having fun with it as I've already seen five series and currently in the middle of a sixth, which now brings me to even more homework I'll be doing between now and 2017.

Last week's second episode of Street Fighter: Resurrection saw things escalate quite a bit following actor Alain Moussi's emergence as the formerly dead Army Major, Charlie Nash. Substantively, it was the most action-packed episode thusfar as our characters finally began taking shape with the signature action scenes and techniques fans have come to know and love about filmmaker Joey Ansah's live-action rendition of the Capcom property via Machinima, and for what it's worth, save for Machinima's teething nine-minute weekly increments of the show on go90, I have yet to be disappointed.

So how do you go about the goal of reviving a 70's television cult classic like Electra Woman & Dyna Girl? Well, leave that to Legendary Digital who have finally arrived with an official trailer following a teaser last summer. Comediennes, actresses Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart star in their respective title roles, and accompanied by your usual doses of comedic wit and superhero action to boot.

Right about now you'll be seeing a lot more TV spots in the coming months with the release of Duncan Jones's latest, Warcraft: The Beginning, on June 10. In the meantime, a new international trailer is making the rounds and with a likely franchise of its own pending, hopefully the crowd will come out in support of this latest adventure flick outside of the comic book movie niche.

Director Hashimoto Hajime's latest, Zebra, looks about as violent and eccentric as one would enjoy in a Japanese gangster thriller, all courtesy of manga author Obata Fumio's 2010 publication which explains some of the peculiar costuming. Actor Ryusei Ryo leads the cast with a script by Takahashi Izumi that centers on an extortionist who mistakenly targets an unassuming member of the Yakuza...big mistake.

I'm currently getting over a cold, but hopefully you've rested well from your Easter weekend as the past two days have been brimming with all things Batsy and Super. Otherwise, here and now and once more, we attribute our day of the week to an article filled with things that make up a lot of the entertainment you see on the big screen, thanks to none other than the stunt community. It's a little shorter than preferred but I think you'll still get your fill, in my opinion.

If there were ever a time to get excited for director Ho Yuhang's new action thriller, Mrs. K, that time would be at least by about now with the festivals already in full swing, and heralded Shaw Brothers veteran Kara Hui on par for what's been deemed as her final action film for some time now. One can only hope this may go another direction, of course, but with teaser footage currently due, she's not doing bad at all with some of the latest images gaining traction this season, including the latest sales poster which you can view below!

Live in New York City? Love cult Asian action classics? Got some free time on your hands in the next few weeks? Then consider yourself properly met in the criteria for the forthcoming 6th Old School Kung Fu Fest which is being held from April 8 through 10, and with a plurality of amazing titles from the Golden Harvest library you're more than welcome to catching on the big screen at the Metrograph in New York City come showtime!

There's no question that filmmaker and YA novelist Guo Jingming has gained a loyal following despite the voices of some naysayers. Nowadays and having carried himself through with the Tiny Times film franchise, he's drawn quite the curiosity with some earlier promo pics of actress Fan Bingbing among the cast in motion-capture suits for his latest ambitious venture, L.O.R.D.: Legend Of Ravaging Dynasties.

Taking a page from the version of Batman The Lego Movie gave us in 2014, director Chris McKay has arrived with an effort of his own for fans of the Bat with the new film, The Lego Batman Movie; In case you're asking yourself this, yes, of course they were going to call it that, and this Batman wouldn't have it any other way.

With 2016 ripe as ever for martial arts action cinema, multi-hyphenate Michael Jai White is certainly one whose name lends its share of fervor to the crowd, and even moreso since his directorial debut for the DVD sequel, Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown in which he also co-starred. That momentum now carries over for Sony's June 7 home release of the new action threequel, Never Back Down: No Surrender with White back once more, and in great company no less with actor  former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett and the towering Nathan Jones, along with wife and actress Gillian Waters White, actor Esai Morales and sports broadcaster and actor, Stephen "The Fight Professor" Quadros.

Actress and martial artist Amy Johnston once sparked the internet with a conceptual action sequence choreographed by James Young in 2012. Since then, her budding stunt career has rightly taken off while others in more advantageous positions began taking notice, namely over at Voltage Pictures as of a few years ago for Johnston's now forthcoming lead debut in Kiss Of The Dragon helmer Chris Nahon's new thriller, Lady Bloodfight.

With the rules on international remakes as malleable as ever, director Deepak Tijori is taking a page from South Korea's own Always helmer Sang Il-Gon. For this, we get Da Lafzon Ki Kahani, shot on location in Kuala Lumpur for the backdrop of a proper underdog story of love, redemption, and drama as heavy-handed as the action looks.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice opened wide to much anticipation this past Friday, heralded by a backlash of negative word-of-mouth that continues still. The consensus: it’s not a total loss, but it’s not the big cinematic triumph we all hoped for. And maybe, it can be argued, that’s our fault. Indeed, we went in with expectations the scope of such that would make even a tall Bonaparte blush. Well, the same can be said about Snyder and Co.; that their aesthetic failure to hit the mark and resonate with audiences and critics alike was predicated on their overzealousness in approach.

News over at Deadline reports that Game Of Thrones Season 6 co-star Dean Jagger's new vampire thriller from StarTree Productions, Corbin Nash, will commence principal photography next week with location details pending. Jagger will star from a script by himself, Christopher P. Taylor and brother Ben Jagger who will direct this, his sophomore gig at the helm following the 2012 drama, The Paddy Lincoln Gang.

Author Xu Haofeng has earned some much-deserved praise for etching out stylish, contemplative action and drama on film in recent memory, namely titles relative to his 2013 anthology, Hiding Behind The Blade; The latest film of the bunch, The Final Master, has already become an award-winning feat since screening for audiences late last year and is now on deck for a North American release in May from UEP.

Depending on what songs you listen to, action legend Sammo Hung's new movie, My Beloved Bodyguard (a.k.a. The Bodyguard) can bode either as a fun and family-friendly flick or a poignant and brutal action thriller. On its face, however, is the insistence of both given the trailers we've seen and so there's no doubt that the film will be a see-saw of emotion throughout, and that also comes in the wake of two music videos circulating online ahead of the film's release

Director Lee Chul-Ha brings an intense-looking new thriller next month with the new film, Insane. Several videos are online to get a glimpse of the explosive intrigue and mystery that sets the stage for actress Kang Ye-Won and prominent K-drama actor Lee Sang-Yoon in his third feature film stint.

Shochiku and Nikkatsu are taking a page or several once more from the Warring States era and transitioning it for the big screen later this year. For this, we look to Makino Nozomi's Nippon TV 60th anniversary stage play, Sanada Ten Braves, one of several iterations of the classic story of ten ninjas in service of samurai warrior Sanada Yukimura in late Sengoku/early Edo Japan.

Flagship Entertainment staked a major claim last week during this year's Hong Kong Filmart, marking a joint venture between CMC (China Media Capital), Warner Bros. and TVB. The announcement included an inaugural slate of up to twelve titles ranging from various genres and budgets and a select number of them already in tow with cast and/or a chosen director.

We're a little over a year from the July 21, 2017 date set for the release of director Luc Besson's newest foray into sci-fi, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. That still leaves plenty of time to obsess with what Besson is up to for the forthcoming adaptation of duo Jean-Claude Mezieres and Pierre Christin's 1967 French comic and this week, Besson is speeding things up via Twitter with a first-look at actor Dane DeHaan and actress Cara Delevingne in costume. Take a look below!

Guaranteed, you'll have a proper intro to the Justice League canon that Warner Bros. will provide you this weekend with the release of Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice. In the meantime, you can now bear witness to the newest big screen rendition of Robot Chicken vet Chris McKay's The Lego Batman Movie following suit with actor Will Arnett's appeal to the character in The Lego Movie in 2014.

Liza, The Fox Fairy co-star, Danish actor David Sakurai first came under my radar in 2013 with a fight sampler to headline his then latest move toward formidable action roles, and since then he's landed a few notable blows; He currently has a role in director Thomas Eikrem's long-awaited noir actioner, Le Accelerator, and gave an electrifying performance in Shaky Gonzalez's meaty martial arts action short, Echoes Of A Ronin while his next step in the genre will be in Gun Woman helmer Mitsutake Kurando's upcoming international revenge flick, Karate Kill opposite lead actor Hayate.

Up for a little revisionist Korean Robin Hood reboot? Look no further than director Jo Sung-Hee who last gained notoriety for his 2012 fantasy romance flick, A Werewolf Boy.

Director Wuershan dazzled at the box office back in 2015 with the 80's set action adventure comedy, Mojin: The Lost Legend. Based on a 2006 novel by Zhang Muye, the subject of searching for lost national treasures may have played a role in garnering the attention it did in China as well as the success drawn from its IMAX releases. At any rate, it became a box office success ultimately debuting second to J.J. Abrams's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

There's a lot left to be desired when it comes to Steven Seagal movies for some. For others, the action star still delivers in films with great action and drama on hand and directors who know how to formulate things properly.

Just a small confession guys: I missed out on a TON of anime in the past decade or so, and this year I've actually been taking an initiative in catching up on as many as I can which is why it's been so quiet on the blog. One of those happens to be Death Note as of sometime this week, which happens to be one of the properties now up for possible live action development in a new deal being announced this week between UTA and North American anime staple and manga staple, Viz Media.

Leave it to director Peter Berg to turn a can of soda into an ominiously horrible science project at a breakfast table. Thus, we have the setup for an intense new teaser for the upcoming disaster epic, Deepwater Horizon based on one of the biggest and most environmentally destructive events in history.

You can find flaws in the work of plenty of directors whose films may attempt to echo a specific era in history close by like the 70's and 80's. Such decades can be difficult to mimic on film but with Shane Black on hand, his approach feels pretty organic and just as hilarious with trailers running for the new crime comedy, The Nice Guys, which stars a less-than-imposing Ryan Gosling next to the meaty, grisled Russell Crowe in pure badass mode.

Bad news, mankind! Underwear is disappearing en masse, ensuing a mystery solveable by none other than the man himself, Hentai Kamen. It all goes down in the upcoming sequel, Hentai Kamen: The Abnormal Crisis, set to release on May 14 in Japan from returning writer and director Fukuda Yuichi and straight from the ambitious pages of manga scribe Ando Keishu.

2016 is still ripe for epic fantasy battles between good and evil, and with just the latest sampling in a third trailer for The Huntsman: Winter's War. Charlize Theron returns in epic villany next to Emily Blunt with returning actor Chris Hemsworth and actress Jessica Chastain leading the action that ventures us into a story prequelizing the events from 2012's Snow White And The Huntsman.

As it stands, it appears to be a four-week affair for Machinima's own release of the new miniseries, Street Fighter: Resurrection. Director Joey Ansah returns to the helm and with three episodes to go since last week's premiere on Verizon's go90 mobile app, thankfully there's plenty to stay excited for with each episode building toward something more.

Director Peng Wang is said to have left a mark in history with the release of his 1958 espionage flick, The Eternal Wave. That mark was eventually still felt when a ceremonious announcent was made early last year for the upcoming remake, New Eternal Wave, now underway as of last December.

80's television action favorite, MacGyver, is slowly coming back into fashion nowadays as the last five months have proven positive for the character's resurgence back to the mainstream. CBS is working on a television adaptation of the character while Lionsgate has since followed through with an announcement this year for a feature film to finally come to fruition and my guess is as good as yours as to how thing could turn out for both, whether they tie in to each other or act as seperate entities from one another.

I think at some point I may have to give myself an actual weekend to rest and relax. That may mean having to sacrifice a Hit List sometime one of these weeks, but considering all the material that arose in the past week, I couldn't let this one slide.

Pecuiliar pictures swirling online late last year drew enough concern and eventually some confirmation of actor Lawrence Fishburne's involvement in the now titled John Wick: Chapter Two. As to what capacity here still remains to be seen, but Fishburne himself is lending a few words to tease his involvement in Lionsgate's budding R-rated action franchise reuniting the actor with the film's star, Keanu Reeves since battling the mechanization of Earth in The Matrix Trilogy.

Movie theaters around the world are preparing for another superhero onslaught this week with the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The film opens this Thursday and Friday following its most recent Sunday night premiere in New York City, and until then we'll be left to binge on as many TV spots as we can take in like the one now online below.

Director Cuong Ngo's latest action thriller, Truy Sat (Tracer) seems ripe for success at the moment upon the launch of its promotional campaign with a second teaser online as of last month. With a big screen date in Vietnam set for April 22, the full trailer is now online and with plenty of optimism that this one will be a sure hit.

MMA fans and anyone who may have been looking forward to watching Conor McGregor make his acting debut in D.J. Caruso's xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage next year may be disappointed. As it turns out, McGregor whose recent loss to Nate Diaz during UFC 196 is reportedly looking toward July's UFC 200 for a rebound, which means foregoing his previously-hyped appearance in the long-awaited action threequel.

Philidelphia will set the stage for director Steven C. Miller's new action flick, Philly Fury. Deadline reported this week the film will commence in May with a script by Jason Mosberg which pits a businessman against a local crimeboss when his deadbeat brother gets kidnapped and held for ransom.

Writer and director Mariko Tetsuya's latest, Distraction Babies, reads a lot like a coming of age drama. Arriving in May and co-written by Kohei Kiyasu, the story revolves around a man who sets out to look for his trouble-prone older brother following his departure from their seaport town.

The set up for director Otomo Keishi's latest feat falls a bit on the bizzare, which is fairly fitting considering the nature of the story. It's Museum, an adaptation of Tomoe Ryosuke's 2013 graphic novel that sees actor Oguri Shun as a detective relentlessly pusuing a serial killer in a frog mask who commits his crimes on rainy nights. The catch, of course, is something much more with the detective now forced to find and protect his family before its too late.

Taking notes from shows like Law & Order and The Wire to layer up its comic book-layered thematic storytelling, the first season of the Marvel series adaptation, Daredevil, proved uniquely entertaining, as well as fundemental in realizing how studios and directors could better flesh-out superhero source material. I had my own doubts about this kind of thing long before this show existed, and my doubts were personally regarding programming decisions with some networks and not so much as creative direction, but that's another can of worms I won't get into right now. Netflix is center stage this week for all things comic book in entertainment, and the second season continues to brim with grit and a high caliber vision that takes the comic book TV genre to an impressive level.

Director Herman Yau has been on busy the trail this year with a few titles lined up - one of them being his latest erotic thriller, Nessun Dorma. The other is the new crime dramedy, The Mobfathers reuniting Yau with actor Chapman To with a trailer already making the rounds, and certainly one boasting with its fair share of brutal underworld gangster violence.

There's a good chance Indonesia has a new action star on its hands with the emergence of local pop sensation Bisma Karisma. His latest role in director Charles Gozali's Juara served up a noteworthy teaser back in December and lends all the more reason to keep paying attention to the talent we're seeing on hand this year.