Noticias

The dust still hasn’t settled from the Helldivers 2 x Halo Odst reveal, but Arrowhead is wasting no time firing up the hype cannons again. Fresh confirmation has landed via Discord that the upcoming Legendary Warbond is “not part of the regular premium warbond release cadence”:

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Naturally, the speculation engine has, once again, been kicked into overdrive. If High Command wanted order, maybe they shouldn’t have trained us to trust nothing and expect chaos. Wallets are on red alert.

When Can We Expect Helldivers 2’s Next “Regular Premium Warbond” Then?

Looking at Arrowhead‘s warbond track record, there’s real logic behind the hype cycle.

The Helldivers 2 community is always ready to dive into action, especially when it comes to spreading managed democracy through new and exciting collaborations. But there’s one game where even the helldivers have drawn a line against and don’t want to see it: Fortnite.

First of all, the vibes are totally different. Helldivers 2 is a gritty, patriotic game, whereas Fortnite is flashy, colorful, and a bit too festive. Sure, we love to dive onto planets and take down bugs, machines, and squid-like aliens, but the thought of fighting alongside a dancing banana? That’s a little too far.

Democracy needs reinforcements, but not from Fortnite

The last collaboration of Helldivers 2 came in December of last year, where it brought armor and weapons from Killzone 2. It was a well-received event that added excitement and variety for players. Now, the community is ready for the next and wants more of the same.

When I spoke to Alan Rudolph a couple months ago, he confirmed that Criterion had sought to release his Remember My Name but were held up by music rights––a situation so complicated that a lawyer hired by the director himself simply gave up. I like to think something’s changed in less than 60 days: the Criterion Channel will stream Remember My Name as part of a quartet featuring Afterglow, Trouble In Mind, and Breakfast of Champions, the latter recently given a 4K restoration. It’s part of a retrospective-heavy month that also includes a 12-title Johnnie To series, numerous films by René Clair, highlights of Amy Holden Jones and Ougie Pak, and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip saga in both television and theatrical editions. Meanwhile, Gene Hackman is celebrated with six titles.

One of those, Night Moves, gets a Criterion Edition; so do Les Blank’s A Poem Is...

Arrowhead Game Studios has worked with Guerrilla Games in the past to give Helldivers 2 players a Killzone 2 crossover. Since this crossover, players have been wondering when they will get another crossover; in fact, they are so tired of waiting that they have suggested various franchises that could work well if introduced within the Helldivers 2 universe.

When talking about sci-fi movie franchises, it’s hard to forget the RoboCop series, with 1987’s RoboCop being one of the first films to normalize the concept of cyborgs. Players believe that Alex Murphy would be the perfect addition to the game, but what side will he be on? Super Earth or Automatons?

Helldivers 2 players want to see a RoboCop x Helldivers 2 collaboration

Helldivers 2 players on the r/helldivers2 subreddit have suggested that Helldivers 2 should have a RoboCop collaboration. Being such a popular franchise with a cyborg law enforcer, it makes sense to have...

Let’s be honest; we all know that Helldivers 2 borrows a lot from the Halo universe. Sure, it’s not a one-on-one copy. However, we’ve seen developer Arrowhead taking a number of thematic and gameplay elements from the Halo games and using them to craft its own unique title.

Helldivers 2 is still making waves in the gaming sphere. (Image via Arrowhead)

One of the most obvious areas where we can see Helldivers 2 borrowing from Halo‘s playbook is the Illuminate faction. It’s a take on the fan-favorite Covenant alliance that’s been known to wreak havoc on humanity and Spartans. However, it’s quite mind-boggling that Arrowhead didn’t go all into this idea and bring the most terrifying Covenant race.

Helldivers 2 has fumbled hard by not properly copying Halo The Covenant’s main power came from the Sangheili. (Image via Microsoft)

One of the best things about...

Recently, Arrowhead Game Studios gave Helldivers 2 players the game’s first-ever collaboration with a different IP. The Helldivers 2 and Killzone collab bundle featured some crazy items but its pricing raised many eyebrows. The studio quickly resolved the controversy and the success of this crossover seemingly confirms that the studio will give players more collaborations in the future.

More collaborations are reportedly on their way after the success of the Helldivers 2 x Killzone 2 crossover (Image via Arrowhead Game Studios)

The Automatons faction in the game is clearly inspired by other popular cyborgs or bio-mechanical organisms/robots such as the Autobots and Decepticons from the Transformers franchise. Imagine a crossover between Decepticons and Automatons but it will only happen if the community shows interest.

Johan Pilestedt explained that Helldivers 2 crossovers will only be possible when this one condition is met

Roughly one year ago, Helldivers 2 was released for the PlayStation 5 and...

Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 has been no stranger to community debate since its release. And it’s right back to it with the recent Killzone collaboration. But the community’s complaint has shifted from the price of the bundle to the balance of the weapons.

The collab is very cool but it didn’t land as intended. | Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios

The Plas-39 Accelerator Rifle has been the main point of players’ dissatisfaction as fans call for buffs online. Arrowhead doesn’t agree though as Creative Director Johan Pilestedt defended the weapon online saying that weapon balance isn’t a priority for this collaboration.

Helldivers 2 is facing yet another weapon balance problem First there was the price problem, now there’s a balance problem. | Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios

The Plas-39 Accelerator Rifle was introduced as part of a crossover with Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 2 in December 2024. However, it...

Arrowhead Game Studios recently gave Helldivers 2 players the first major crossover with Guerrilla Games’ 2009 video game Killzone 2. The initial response to the crossover wasn’t the best as players were disappointed to see the outrageous prices. Arrowhead was able to cover it up by giving away free items but fans have now found another reason to hate on the crossover.

Many unique items were added to Helldivers 2 as a part of the Killzone 2 collaboration (Image via Arrowhead Game Studios)

Due to poor response to the crossover, Arrowhead and Guerrilla Games decided to give away six unique items, which included the Plas-39 Accelerator Rifle. Players had high expectations with this burst-fire plasma rifle, however, it has turned out to be a disappointment. Players on social media have complained that the weapon is underwhelming, particularly because of its medium armor penetrating trait.

Helldivers 2 players don’t like this one weapon...

Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 has once again managed to become one of the most popular games in the world. Like many other video games that were released this year, Helldivers 2 also hit a rough patch. However, Arrowhead managed to turn this around.

Helldivers 2 has made a strong comeback (Image via Arrowhead Game Studios)

The secret behind this successful comeback is very simple: listening to the players. As basic as it sounds, many video game developers refuse to listen to the fans as they sometimes prioritize revenue over player experience. Helldivers 2 has mastered the art of balancing these two things and this is what makes Helldivers 2 better than other live-service games like Concord.

Arrowhead Game Studios revived Helldivers 2’s hype by listening to the feedback

When Helldivers 2 was initially released in February 2024, it quickly became popular because of its unique PvE co-op experience. However, the game lost most of its player...

Helldivers 2 has already had its share of community-wide controversies less than a year after its release, with the latest being a potential turning point for the franchise. While Helldivers 2 had a massively successful launch that blew the expectations of both fans and Arrowhead games themselves, it always struggled to keep up a good relationship with the player base. While the recent Illuminate update is a fantastic reason for players to give the action-packed co-op shooter another chance, its recent collaboration has overshadowed some of its best features.

While the community criticized Helldivers 2 for its lack of updates and a long list of weapon nerfs, the largest issue was raised over Sony's adding unnecessary login steps to the game. Although just when Helldivers 2 had been recovering from the impacting reviews resulting from Sony's Psn account requirement and its ensuing backlash, Helldivers 2 caused even more outrage among fans for an entirely separate reason.

Get more of your action fix with another trailer from Well Go USA. This week, the distributor released the hard-hitting first look at the Tony Jaa action film Striking Rescue. In that trailer, Jaa looks to return to form after capitalizing on his exploding career by starring in international films like Furious 7, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Skin Trade, Triple Threat and KillZone 2. While his new movie isn’t a Thai production, it brings back the hardcore fighting that broke him out in Ong Bak.

Now, take a look at Donnie Yen as he stars in the new legal action film The Prosecutor. Yen steps in to direct and stars in the film alongside Julian Cheung, Francis Ng, Kent Cheng, Adam Pak, Kang Yu and Locker Lam. The official plot synopsis reads, “Inspired by an actual legal case in Hong Kong, The Prosecutor follows the story of...

We’ve taken a look at Tony Jaa’s breakout hit Ong Bak in an episode of our Reel Action series that’s available on the JoBlo Originals Channel on YouTube. Since his first few Thai films, in which he was heavily involved in the action creation, Jaa would inevitably branch out into international films. Movies like Furious 7, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Skin Trade, Triple Threat and KillZone 2 would utilize him, but the Thai star wouldn’t quite reach the kind of showmanship that he displayed in his earlier movies. The upcoming movie Striking Rescue may just be the return to form.

It was recently reported that the film has been acquired by frequent martial arts film distributor Well Go USA for the North American distribution rights. Well Go USA has just released the official, hard-hitting trailer for Striking Rescue. Per THR, “Directed by Cheng Siyi,...

We’ve taken a look at Tony Jaa’s breakout hit Ong Bak in an episode of our Reel Action series that’s available on the JoBlo Originals Channel on YouTube. Since his first few Thai films, in which he was heavily involved in the action creation, Jaa would inevitably branch out into international films. Movies like Furious 7, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Skin Trade, Triple Threat and KillZone 2 would utilize him, but the Thai star wouldn’t quite reach the kind of showmanship that he displayed in his earlier movies.

The upcoming movie Striking Rescue may just be the return to form. And The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the film has been acquired by frequent martial arts film distributor Well Go USA for the North American distribution rights. Per THR, “Directed by Cheng Siyi, the action revenge movie follows An Bai (Jaa), a veteran...

Over the last three years, we’ve seen Sony continuing to port some of the best PlayStation-exclusive games under its belt to PC, but with pretty mixed results. While they’ve proven to be incredible additions, the company still hasn’t added official ports for games such as Bloodborne.

Modders are now emulating Sony’s Red Dead Redemption on PC. (Image via Rockstar Games)

This led to gamers taking matters into their own hands and bringing an emulator that could finally run Bloodborne right on their PCs. However, it isn’t just the FromSoftware title; modders are even bringing the much anticipated Red Dead Redemption port before Sony makes an official move.

Modders Are Bringing Another Major Sony Title to PCs

The brand-new PlayStation 4 emulator ShadePS4 has been making waves in the gaming community in recent months. It has made tremendous progress running popular games such as Resident Evil: Origins Collection,...

Pluto TV, Paramount’s free streaming service, has revealed its May highlights. The Pluto TV May 2024 schedule includes Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, more anime content, new channels, and new film additions.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience.

The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies. It offers a wide array of genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more.

Pluto TV can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV’s growing international footprint extends across three continents and over 35 markets.

Pluto TV May 2024 Programming

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month

To pay tribute, Pluto TV...

As some of the lists of the previous years were not on par with the ones we have been publishing lately, we decided to take a closer look at some of the years that were not as covered at the time. In that fashion, here is a list with the 50 of the Best Asian movies of 2015, in completely random order.

1. Monster Hunt

Raman Hui evidently shot a film to indulge every demographic category in the country. In that fashion, the movie entails elements of RPGs, comics, martial arts, comedy, musicals, romance, some drama and a plethora of action scenes. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

on Amazon by clicking on the image below 2. Spl 2: A Time for Consequences

The action scenes are magnificent, with Tony Jaa as Chatchai and Wu Jing as Kit giving their best selves. Furthermore, the film excels in the technical department, both in cinematography and special effects,...

While it can sometimes be difficult to separate one gaming year from another when we try to recall them from memory, the fact of the matter is that some years are significantly better than others. Indeed, it can sometimes feel…strange to realize that a handful of years played host to a stunning collection of some of the absolute best games ever made.

Before we get into our picks for the best years in video game history, though, let’s take a look at some of the criteria I used to determine the selections and rankings you’ll find on this list:

The number of quality games released in a given year was the biggest determining factor when it came to both the years they were selected and where they are ranked. Simply put, the more great games released in a particular year, the better. The historical significance of the...

Martial arts movie stars often get typecast as either heroes or villains, but some are skilled at playing both roles, like Carter Wong and Max Zhang. Another example is Gary Daniels, known for his flexibility and kicking skills, who plays both heroes and villains in martial arts films. Actors like Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, and Dolph Lundgren have successfully portrayed both heroes and villains, showcasing their versatility in action films.

Numerous great martial arts stars play heroes and villains alike. Martial arts films are typically headlined by actors or actresses with a life-long background in formal martial arts training. Oftentimes, leads of martial arts films tend to become somewhat typecast for portraying heroes, while others go the opposite route and primarily play villains.

Some martial arts stars, however, pull off quite a juggling act with both heroes and villains. In such cases, martial arts movie stars who tackle the good...

Plot: When an evil mining operation unearths prehistoric beasts from the ocean’s depths, including multiple megalodons, rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) must suit up to face the return of an old enemy.

Review: 2018’s The Meg overcame middling reviews (including one from yours truly) to become an unlikely global success at the box office. Like its predecessor, Meg 2: The Trench is based on a novel by author Steve Alten, and what’s exciting to genre fans is that the great Ben Wheatley is behind the camera. For those who may not know his work, Wheatley is widely considered one of the UK’s best genre directors, with him having made Kill List, Sightseers, Free Fire, High Rise and – recently – the Netflix remake of Rebecca. This is different for him because it’s a big-budget event movie. How does it fare compared to the original?

Honestly, it’s a mixed bag.

The Expendables collects a big ensemble of action heroes, but there are many that the series has overlooked. The Expendables franchise follows a team of mercenaries led by Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross, with the team being deployed on high-stakes and often explosive missions across the globe. Stallone's crew for The Expendables movies has long included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, with other big action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, and Mel Gibson joining the series along the way.

The cast of The Expendables 4 adds new blood to the franchise's roster with Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, though Li, Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Terry Crews do not appear in the fourth installment of the series. However, despite bringing together so many action stars with each entry, there are also quite a few who would add more explosive energy to The Expendables franchise...

Undisputed 5 could bring aboard many great martial arts stars for Yuri Boyka's return to the ring. The Undisputed franchise first introduced Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins) in Isaac Florentine's Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing, with the highly formidable Mma fighter Boyka determined to prove himself worthy of the title of The Most Complete Fighter in the World. Though he was introduced as the antagonist of Undisputed 2, Boyka quickly became the Undisputed franchise's central character, returning as the protagonist of Undisputed 3: Redemption and Boyka: Undisputed.

Though Scott Adkins says there is a script for Undisputed 5, the next chapter of the Undisputed series has not yet gotten off the ground. Naturally, in a martial arts franchise like the Undisputed movies, a cast of great martial artists is a must. While Undisputed 5 bringing back Michael Jai White, Marko Zaror, and other past stars of the series would be a fantastic concept,...

‘Motorway’ Director In The Driving Seat

Cheang Pou Soi (better known as Soi Cheang) whose latest film “Mad Fate” will premiere this month at the Berlin Film Festival, will be further honored next month when the Hong Kong International Film Festival makes him its Filmmaker in Focus.

He was born in Macau, but gained his footing in the much larger Hong Kong film industry, under the tutelage of Ringo Lam, Andrew Lau, Joe Ma, Wilson Yip and Johnnie To. He achieved a breakthrough with 1999 digital video “Our Last Day.”

“Cheang is a key figure among Hong Kong’s post-1997 generation of filmmakers and notable for his sombre but unmistakably personal visual style,” Hkiff Society director Albert Lee said in a statement. “He seldom deviates from mainstream storytelling conventions, but innovatively explores new boundaries of filmmaking across different genres, from horror and thriller to action films. In the stark dystopia he creates,...

The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF47) will honour Soi Cheang as this year’s Filmmaker-in-Focus.

One of Hong Kong’s most stylish and formidable directors, Cheang joins an illustrious and growing list of recent Hkiff Filmmakers-in-Focus, including Sandra Ng, Stanley Kwan, Michael Hui, Sammo Hung and Brigitte Lin.

Returning to its traditional dates after last year’s postponement, HKIFF47 will take place from 30 March to 10 April. At the centre of this year’s cinephile extravaganza is the showcase of Cheang’s 12 seminal works, the publication of a commemorative book and, in collaboration with long-term festival partner Moleskine, the release of a limited edition notebook. Cheang will also attend a Face-to-Face session to share his insights and vision with the public.

In making the announcement, Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Executive Director Albert Lee paid tribute to Cheang and said the festival was proud to recognise his indelible contribution to Hong Kong cinema.

Peter Luo’s Starlight has set Thai martial arts / action star Tony Jaa for the lead role in the action/crime/thriller trilogy – an Untitled Tony Jaa Assassin Project.

In the first installment of what will be a three-picture franchise, Jaa will play a legendary assassin who disappeared three years ago and becomes the target of all criminal organizations and law enforcement agencies. The story will unfold in an unconventional structure packed with thrilling action and suspense. As the manhunt accelerates, the mystery of the assassin’s identity is slowly unraveled. In this franchise, as layers of truth are revealed one by one, the end game will come into sight for audiences.

The trilogy is based on an original idea by Peter Luo with Jaa in mind as the star. A Muay Thai master whose formidable martial arts skills have dazzled action lovers in such films as Ong Bak and...

A couple new posters have been released for director Steven S. DeKight's Pacific Rim Uprising. One of the posters offers us our first good look at Scott Eastwood in the film. As you can see, he's all suited up and ready to ride into battle piloting his Jaeger the Gypsy Avenger. He and John Boyega's characters are co-pilots in the story. We got our first poster featuring Boyega's character earlier this week. I've also included another poster for the film that you can check out below. It's more of a stylized piece that comes with the tagline, "Rise Up".

It’s been ten years since The Battle of the Breach and the oceans are still, but restless. Vindicated by the victory at the Breach, the Jaeger program has evolved into the most powerful global defense force in human history. The Ppdc now calls upon the best and brightest to...

Legendary Pictures has released the first official poster for Pacific Rim: Uprising. It features John Boyega suited up and ready for battle with the Jaeger he pilots in the film, which is called the Gipsy Avenger. The first full trailer for the film is expected to be released next week during New York Comic Con. It'll be cool to see what exactly this sequel is going to offer.

It’s been ten years since The Battle of the Breach and the oceans are still, but restless. Vindicated by the victory at the Breach, the Jaeger program has evolved into the most powerful global defense force in human history. The Ppdc now calls upon the best and brightest to rise up and become the next generation of heroes. When the Kaiju threat returns, we will be ready.

Pacific Rim: Uprising is being directed by Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil) and it also...

By David Kozlowski | 4 August 2017

Welcome to Issue #7 of The Lrm Weekend, a weekly column offering strong opinions about film, TV, comics, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, animation, and anime. We also want to hear from you, our awesome Lrm community! Share your feedback or ideas for future columns: @LRM_Weekend and we'll post your Tweets below!

Previous Issues: 7.28.17 | 7.21.17 | 7.14.17 | 7.7.17 | 6.30.17 | 6.23.17

Hey Lrm Weekenders, you might notice a few changes to the column this week. As summer draws to a close we're moving some stuff around and tweaking our content to be a little more opinionated and provocative.

Each of our Lrm writers have super-strong opinions about film, TV, comics, and all of the big franchises and universes. So, going forward Lrm Weekend is going to amp-up our voices a bit more -- and we invite our readers to punch back whenever and wherever you disagree!

Audiences Are Tired Of Spectacle And Hollywood Doesn't Care.

One of the year’s most anticipated films opened this week in a handful of theatres across North America: Hong Kong director Ringo Lam’s Sky on Fire. After his promisingly solid return to directing after more than a decade in retirement with last year’s Wild City, hopes were high for the new film, if only because it shares the title formulation of some of his greatest works: City on Fire, School on Fire and the two Prison on Fire films. With Daniel Wu starring in a story of greed and corruption in the medical industry, it promised to be a worthy addition to the career of one of Hong Kong’s most distinguished directors, a man whose bleak tales of institutional collapse provided some of the most viscerally kinetic and apocalyptic visions of the colony in the years between the 1984 Joint Declaration and the 1997 Handover. Instead, it’s a mess,...

The only reason we are getting a Pacific Rim sequel is because the movie raked in a huge pile of cash at the Chinese box office. In a smart move Legendary has added Chinese action superstar Zhang Jin (IP Man 3, Kill Zone 2) to the cast. This is a growing trend for Legendary, who have put popular Chinese actors in Kong: Skull Island, Transformers 4, and The Great Wall to guarantee solid box office results in China.

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom has started shooting, which means leaked set photos. These photos feature John Boyega wearing what I imagine will become another iconic jacket. February 23rd, 2018 is over a year away, and I can't wait to see more from this film.

More PACRIM2 Set Pics Here Happy Monday Everyone https://t.co/OrtqLojzUZ pic.twitter.com/eKGZvcI4wC

— adri...

Outside of perhaps Kill Zone 2 and Blood Father, this year’s action offerings have been severely lacking. That’s thankfully about to change in early 2017 as Keanu Reeves returns with John Wick: Chapter Two, a sequel to his surprise hit back in 2014. Following the poster debut, the first images have now landed, which finds Wick alongside a new canine companion.

“I would say we had twice as much action as the first movie,” director Chad Stahelski says. “We took it all a full notch up as far as the driving car stuff went. A great portion of the car chase in the opening of the film is Keanu, which is very impressive.” As we await the first trailer, which will likely arrive around the time of the Nycc Comic-Con Panel on October 8, check out the new images above and below, as well as the poster if you missed it.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen)

For as accomplished as Joel and Ethan Coen’s debut Blood Simple comes across as to a viewer, like any director, they can’t help but recognize their flaws. That’s not to say their newly restored debut, now available on The Criterion Collection, doesn’t look and sound gorgeous — every bead of sweat dripping down M. Emmet Walsh’s face and every...

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

Night & Fog (Alain Resnais)

Ten years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, filmmaker Alain Resnais documented the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek in Night and Fog (Nuit et brouillard), one of the first cinematic reflections on the Holocaust. Juxtaposing the stillness of the abandoned camps’ empty buildings with haunting wartime footage, Resnais investigates humanity’s capacity for violence, and presents the devastating suggestion that such horrors could occur again. – Criterion

Sing Street (John Carney)

Returning...

Easily placing among my top 10 list for the year so far, Kill Zone 2 (aka Spl 2: A Time of Consequences) is a delirious Hong Kong action movie that is fiercely kinetic and features jaw-dropping, jaw-breaking fight scenes that truly must be seen to be believed. If you resisted the Video On Demand option earlier this year because you wanted the physical media release, then you should know that the movie will be available on Blu-ray and DVD as of tomorrow (Tuesday, July 19) and it is well worth whatever price you end up paying for it, assuming, of course, that you like action movies that leave viewers battered and bruised. To read more about the movie, directed by Soi Cheang, check out our...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Plus several titles we already know are worth your time.

This year’s Fantasia International Film Festival starts today in the beautiful city of Montreal, and we couldn’t be more excited. (Well, I could be if I was there, but I don’t arrive until Saturday night so my peak joy will have to wait until then.) We’ve already revealed the three-part lineup announcement here, here, and here, but as the fest begins we wanted to go ahead and share the films we’re most anticipating as well as recommend some movies that we’ve already seen and loved.

As of this moment I’ve seen twenty-five of the fest’s titles, but that’s still less than one-fifth of films playing this year. Here are some of my favorites.

The director of The Chaser delivers a terrific horror/thriller hybrid from South Korea, The Wailing (full review), which pits a hapless cop against the...

Win a Blu Ray copy of Well Go USA’s Kill Zone 2 with Tony Jaa and have front seat to one of the most exhilarating actions films out this year!

Tony Jaa is absolutely stupendous as an humble prison guard who is simply trying to earn a living and care for his sick daughter. Caught between a rock and hard place, Jaa finds himself at odds with himself and a whole league of bad guys who are out to get him as he tries his damnedest not to lose himself to the temptation of desperately needed money.

Jaa’s nemesis, played by Max Zhang, is like a powerful and deadly typhoon in every scene. Even when he is just talking, the man is terrifying. He swoops in on both Jaa and his co-lead, Chinese mega martial artist and star, Wu Jing, with amazing speed and accuracy as if each...

In this giddily frenetic follow-up (though not a sequel) to modern martial arts epic Kill Zone (aka Spl: Sha Po Lang), action icons Tony Jaa (Furious 7, Ong Bak franchise) and Zhang Jin (Ip Man 3) team up with Hong Kong megastars Simon Yam (Ip Man), Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior) and Louis Koo (Drug War) for the critically-acclaimed, action-packed martial arts extravaganza Kill Zone 2, debuting on Blu-ray™ and DVD July 19 from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Directed by Pou-Soi Cheang (Accident, Motorway), the film is a breakneck story of dirty cops, prison riots, and black market organ transplants, all brought together by a non-stop series of inventive, bone-crunching setpieces.

Rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Kill Zone 2 was named a “Film of Merit” at the 2016 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and Chung Chi Li (Ip Man: The Final Fight) won a Golden Horse at the 2016 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Action Choreography.

Well Go USA Entertainment has announced that Fruit Chan’s genre-bending The Midnight After will be available on DVD and digitally on 21 June 2016.

The film premiered at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival and was the recipient of numerous prestigious nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at the Hong Kong Film Awards, where it also won in the Best Original Score category.

Based on a cult internet novel by Hong Kong writer “Mr. Pizza“, The Midnight After follows a group of 16 bus passengers who find that, in the time between entering and emerging from a traffic tunnel, the city was struck by an apocalyptic event.

The innovative Chan sculpts a blend of horror, comedy, mystery and sci-fi, flinging his unique cast of characters into increasingly bizarre scenarios.

The film received critical praise for its tone, most notably the blasé manner in which characters respond to the otherworldly circumstances they find themselves in.

Never fear the “2” in the title of Soi Cheang’s deliriously baroque, thrillingly action-packed extravaganza Kill Zone 2, better known in Asia (and to early film festival viewers) as Spl 2: A Time for Consequences. This is a follow-up, but decidedly not a sequel, to Wilson Yip’s 2005 original, a modern action film classic that toplined Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung. Therefore, absolutely no familiarity with the original Spl or Kill Zone is required. Yen and Hung are absent this time around; the only elements this new iteration shares with the original are its title and returning players Simon Yam and Wu Jing, playing completely different roles in a completely different plot. And what a plot it is; it’s extremely convoluted – yet...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

99 Homes (Ramin Bahrani)

Ramin Bahrani made a name for himself with three independent films over the last decade, focusing on humanity’s daily struggles, reinvented foreign lives in America, and a fundamental sense of decency. With 2012’s At Any Price and this year’s 99 Homes, Bahrani has twice returned to the festival that launched his career, presenting the evolution of those themes. Not coincidentally, the worst...

In today’s edition of Sequel Bits: The director of Space Jam doesn’t think a sequel should happen. Paddington 2 is officially on the way. Lionsgate is already talking about Now You See Me 3. Vin Diesel is facing a lawsuit over XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. Trainspotting 2 has begun filming. The trailer for […]

The post Sequel Bits: ‘Space Jam 2,’ ‘Paddington 2,’ ‘Now You See Me 3,’ ‘Trainspotting 2,’ ‘XXX: The Return of Xander Cage,’ ‘Kill Zone 2’ appeared first on /Film.

Saturday Am Update: Friday estimates are in and Captain America: Civil War led the charge with an estimated $19.4 million suggesting the film is looking at something around a $73 million second weekend. Coming in second on Friday, but likely to finish third for the weekend, is Sony's Money Monster, which scored an estimated $5 million on Friday along with a "B+" CinemaScore. The studio is projecting a $14.5-15 million weekend. The weekend's other new wide release, Bh Tilt's The Darkness, appears to be right on track if not slightly ahead of expectations. The micro-budgeted horror feature scored an estimated $2.13 million on Friday and is looking at a $5-5.4 million weekend. The film scored a "C" CinemaScore with opening day audiences. You can see our complete chart of Friday estimates right here and we'll be back tomorrow morning with a complete weekend wrap-up. Friday Am Update: Money Monster took in $600,000 from 2,387 locations on Thursday night.

Containing a number in its title, yet blissfully not chained to franchise requirements — a decade-long gap between installments perhaps being the first clue as to a lack of continuity — Kill Zone 2 (aka Spl 2: A Time for Consequences) creates a welcome rupture within the action genre’s currently crumbling state: utterly classic in narrative beats yet unafraid to embrace the modern tools of the trade.

Beginning with familiar images (e.g. a cityscape and data streaming across a computer screen), there quickly comes the reveal of the narrative being (at least partly) built on a sick child, a trope of the melodrama, which instantly serves as a reminder of John Woo’s best films. The father of this child, police officer Chai (Tony Jaa), has taken on an additional prison-guard job to pay her medical bills. Unbeknownst to him, this new occupation plunges him not just into the world of working-class fatherhood,...

Kill Zone 2, retitled from the slightly less badass sounding Spl 2: A Time For Consequences, is actually a follow-up to Wilson Yip’s 2005 film Kill Zone rather than a direct sequel, though the frenzied, bone-breaking action of the original is kept intact and even kicked up a few notches. Directed by Cheang Pou-soi, the film is a pan-Asian noir-thriller with a body-harvesting element, a twist that’s sure to capture genre fans’ attention.

But underneath its gory premise lies a simple, blistering exhibition of exhilarating martial arts choreography starring the (former?) pride of Thailand, Tony Jaa, and a couple of talented, fast-kicking up-and-comers in the form of Zhang Jin and Wu Jing. The action is brutal, elegantly staged and so fast that you’ll feel your hair blow back as the kicks whiz back and forth, but it’s the woefully improbable narrative that gives the movie a strange,...

The hopes one places in films can be a strange thing: that certain something, whatever it may be, that was special once, twice, or many times about the work of an actor, a director, a genre—how that instills the yearning for that very thing to be reconstituted again anew. (And yet, of course, the precariousness of this desire; thus the baffling response, for example, that South Korean director Hong Sang-soo keeps doing the same old thing.)I love Hong Kong director Cheang Soi, whom I have written about before, an action-thriller auteur of unique vision and energy. His international presence and reputation were upgraded over the last few years with a two-film stint at Johnnie To's Milkyway Image company—Accident and Motorway—as his style of gritty pursuit was sandpapered to the sleek, honed feel of To and Wai Ka-fai's company. And then he leapt even further:...

I’ve got a brutally badass trailer here for you to watch for Tony Jaa’s upcoming martial arts film Kill Zone 2. There’s some incredibly insane action in this trailer, and you get to witness Jaa break some people. I enjoy watching Tony Jaa fight in movies and this next film looks incredibly awesome.

When an undercover cop gets too close to revealing the mastermind of a drug syndicate, his cover is blown. Double-crossed and under a false identity, he’s thrown into a Thai prison, where a guard discovers the inmate – claiming he’s a cop – is a bone marrow match for his dying daughter…and his warden may have an even deadlier operation hidden within the prison walls.In this giddily frenetic follow-up (though not a sequel) to modern martial arts epic Kill Zone (aka Spl: Sha Po Lang), action icons Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector...

Don’t worry if you never saw 2005’s Kill Zone — according to those familiar with the project, this year’s Kill Zone 2 (also called Spl II: A Time for Consequences) is a sequel in name only. Completism doesn’t even apply. Now, if one simply desires Hong Kong-provided ass-kicking, this is a place to direct attention. Critically acclaimed for the intensity of its action and the narrative that gives them weight, it might be the perfect antidote to tired, assembled action cinema of the multiplex.

Well Go USA, our premiere distributor of Asian cinema, will begin the U.S. run of Cheang Pou-soi‘s movie this week, and so there’s an intense trailer to promote such an occasion. What else does one need to hear? Partake in the bone-crunching!

Have a look below:

Synopsis:

When an undercover cop gets too close to revealing the mastermind of a drug syndicate,...

The summer has arrived — at least if you’re going by Hollywood’s calendar. Our comprehensive preview for all four months will give you a hint as to what we most anticipate — but, for a more in-depth look, today we have our first monthly feature of the season. It should be noted that theatrical re-releases of the Jean-Luc Godard classic Band of Outsiders and Eiichi Yamamoto‘s animation, Belladonna of Sadness, both arriving on May 6th, as well as Fritz Lang‘s Destiny (on May 20th), are essential.

Getting to the new features, perhaps our most-anticipated studio release of the entire summer arrives, along with some of our festival favorites from the last year. To those lamenting the lack of superhero films: we figured it was best not to waste the space, as they are certainly already on your radar if you’re planning to buy a ticket. Check out...

Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.NEWSDirector Guy Hamilton, Sean Connery, and Honor Blackman on the set of Goldfinger.We're still stunned from the sudden death of music legend Prince, at a time when Bowie is still on our minds and in our hearts.Last week we also lost director Guy Hamilton, an action director who began as an Ad for Carol Reed (on The Fallen Idol and The Third Man, among others), and best known for leading several James Bond entries, starting with Goldfinger in 1964.The Tribeca Film Festival wrapped in New York over the weekend, and the winners have been announced, including best international feature to Junction 48 and best documentary feature to Do Not Resist.There is no other cinematic project we're more looking forward to than 2017's continuation of David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks.

We've all had this happen to us, I'm sure. Picture this: you're sitting comfortably in your jail cell when a guard bursts in and demands that you translate a phone call from Thai into Cantonese. Now! Sheesh. Prison guards are such a pain, am I right? Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but that's what happens in our exclusive clip from Kill Zone 2 (original title: Saat po long 2, aka Spl 2: A Time of Consequences), the long-awaited sequel -- apparently in name only -- to the magnificent Spl (inexplicably renamed Kill Zone for its U.S. release). The original was one of the finest action films of the century, in my opinion; the sequel was a monster hit upon release in Asia last year...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

I have been waiting for this news a long time, finally it has happened with Tony Jaa signing on to star in Sha Po Lang 2. The first movie starred Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing and Simon Yam, it delivered on all fronts with great action from all involved. Once we get more details about any future cast, we shall let you know.

This was the official statement that was released “Jaa is thrilled to be part of this film, and you can expect some surprise appearances in the film. The action choreography is being handled by Dion Lam who was heavily involved in the stunt work on Spider Man 2. Wilson Yip remains very much involved with Terrence Cheung in the director’s chair. The film while targeted towards the China and Asian markets will also be released in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. The collaboration represents...