News

While Bloodsport, the 1988 martial arts tournament movie, is widely considered by fans to be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best film, it almost never saw the light of day. Indeed, according to Nick De Semlyen’s book, “Last Action Heroes” (buy it here), the film was deemed unreleasable by Cannon Pictures head Menachem Golan. The film sat on the shelf for fourteen months and was considered so bad that Golan intended to release the movie direct-to-video. Things got so heated that Golan refused to go ahead with a proposed sequel to Lone Wolf McQuade, which would have featured Van Damme teaming up with Chuck Norris (who was an early mentor to Jcvd). He wanted Michael Dudikoff instead.

According to the book, Van Damme, who had returned to his old job as a limo driver when Bloodsport wrapped, convinced the studio to allow him to re-edit the film with Towering Inferno editor Carl Press.

Only a ninja can stop a ninja. And only cool boutique companies like Kino Lorber can take a movie like Revenge of the Ninja and give it its own special edition Blu-ray release. Recently, it was reported that director Sam Firstenberg is on a journey to restore his martial arts film American Samurai, but one of the director’s more popular works is now getting a special physical media release with a bevy of special features. We’ve touched on the “Ninja Trilogy” from Cannon Films on our YouTube channel series, Reel Action, and Revenge of the Ninja is one of the films from the 80s that took the ninja craze and elevated it for the masses. Blu-ray.com reports that Kino Lorber is set to have the disc hit the market on May 21.

The plot description reads, “The Ninja are back! Brandishing swords and fists, leaping and kicking, wielding blow darts and explosives,...

“The Cannon Film Guide is a treasure trove of info for Golan/Globus fans. Even diehard Cannon scholars will learn from this tome.” – Paul Talbot, author of the Bronson’s Loose! books

The unbelievable story of the legendary 1980s B-movie studio continues in The Cannon Film Guide Volume II, which covers the company’s output from 1985 to 1987, their peak production years under maverick moguls Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. This highly-anticipated sequel to the original Cannon compendium takes an up-close look at sixty Cannon movies, from deep cuts to cult classics, including American Ninja, The Delta Force, Over the Top, Invasion USA, Masters of the Universe, Runaway Train, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, King Solomon’s Mines, Lifeforce, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and many more. Order the book Here

With hundreds of photos and more than forty interviews with Cannon directors, writers, and stars, this is an indispensable reference book for...

“Avenging Force” is an underrated, overlooked, action extravaganza starring Michael Dudikoff and Steve James, which was produced between the first two “American Ninja” films. Released by the legendary, mini-studio, “The Cannon Group,” many die hard action fans consider this to be Michael Dudikoff’s onscreen tour de force. Sam Firstenberg agrees, and even believes this is his own best movie out of the 25 films he’s directed.

On the surface “Avenging Force” is a typical slam-bang, exploitation action flick, but the social/political themes of white supremacy and systemic racism are sadly much more relevant today than they were in 1986. The villains of the film, “The Pentangle,” are an extremist militant group of powerful elites that will destroy anyone that opposes their vision of what America should be.

“Avenging Force” was originally conceived as a sequel to the Chuck Norris film, “Invasion USA,” and it is a very unique movie...

Amazon Prime has confirmed that several of its original series will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in July, including the first seasons of both the Indian reality competition series “Comicstaan” and the Tour de France travelogue “Eat.Race.Win” and season 4 of the charming children’s series “Tumble Leaf.”

And there will also be new to Amazon Prime seasons of some of your favorites from other networks, including the final episodes of the Emmy-winning FX drama “The Americans,” all 12 seasons of the groundbreaking police drama “NYPD Blue” and all seven seasons of the Kyra Sedgwick crime series “The Closer.”

Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first appearances on Amazon Prime including the four films in the “Jaws” franchise and the Oscar-winning “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in July

Available July 1

21 Jump Street (Seasons 1-2)

Burn...

Hulu is ringing in the summer with plenty of new titles to keep you occupied during your air conditioned TV binges next month.

The Stephen King multiverse series “Castle Rock” finally makes its debut on July 25, and the final season of Hulu’s original series “Casual” will land on July 31.

Meanwhile, the second season of Hulu’s “Harlots” premieres on July 11, and Season 4 of “You’re the Worst” is available on July 6. The third season of Lifetime’s “UnReal” is available on July 2.

Also Read: Hulu Orders Drama Pilot 'Reprisal' From 'Handmaid's Tale' Producer Warren Littlefield

See below for the complete list of titles coming to and leaving next month.

Available July 1

Alone: Complete Season 3 (History)

American Pickers: Complete Season 17 (History)

American Ripper: Complete Season 1 (History)

Ancient Top 10: Complete Season 1 (History)

The Curse of Oak Island: Complete Season 4 (History)

Doomsday Preppers: Complete Season 2 (Nat Geo)

Forged in Fire: Complete...

Amazon Prime members who like tragic spies, sparkle vampires, being-depressed-about-global-warming or old school television have plenty to look forward to in July, as the streaming service is adding a ton of new movies and TV shows.

On the TV front, three new Prime Originals come this month, including Indian stand up series “Comicstaan” on July 13, “Tumble Leaf” on July 24, and “Eat. Race. Win,” a behind-the-scenes look of the Tour de France landing July 27.

The streaming service is also giving members a visit from the Ghost of TV Past on July 1 when it adds undercover-cops-in-high-school Fox series “21 Jump Street,” the complete run of USA Network’s “Burn Notice,” and all 12 seasons of ’90s cop drama “NYPD Blue,” among others.

And skipping ahead to month’s end, “The Americans” season 6 lands on Prime July 29.

Meanwhile, on July 1 Prime Video is also adding a few classics to its film library, including “American Psycho,...

Sylvester Stallone is the master at making the most out of simplicity. So good is this action legend at taking a basic idea and making it exist forever, that eventually he tries to give said idea a certain degree of gravitas. How does he do this you say?

Take Rocky Balboa. In the first film, this lovable schlub just wants to have a girlfriend and go the distance in a dream title fight. By the fourth film in this wondrous saga, Rocky is defending America on Russian soil and beating a fighter who (realistically) would have Ko'd the Italian Stallion in 1 round. In fact, Rocky was almost Ko'd in one round, however, the referee let it go on. How's that for Sylvester Stallone making the most of something simple?

He did the same thing with Rambo. In the first film, John Rambo was a simple man who just wanted to...

Stars: Shô Kosugi, James Booth, Donna Kei Benz, Norman Burton, Kane Kosugi, Shane Kosugi, Matthew Faison, Parley Baer, Robert Ito, Michael Constantine, Alan Amiel, Woody Watson | Written by James Booth | Directed by Gordon Hessler

Pray For Death was the second film – outside of the Ninja Trilogy – to feature Sho Kosugi in a lead role and is easily one of, if not the, best film Kosugi has ever made. The film sees Shô Kosugi star as Akira, a Japanese businessman who, jaded by his job and looking for a better life for his family, moves to America. He opens a restaurant with his wife and kids but his world is shattered when he stumbles upon the headquarters of a sinister gang, led by crime lord Limehouse Willie. Wrongfully accused of stealing a precious necklace, the gangsters begin a rampage of murder that takes the life of Akira’s wife and threatens...

The rise and fall of Cannon Films is told in Mark Hartley's wildly entertaining documentary, Electric Boogaloo. Here's Ryan's review...

Producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were famous (or infamous) for many things, but a stringent approach to quality filmmaking was hardly one of them. At the height of their success in the 1980s, the Israeli cousins, and their company Cannon Films, were synonymous with cheap B-movies of just about every kind: Chuck Norris action flicks, sex comedies, ninja martial arts epics, dance movies and tawdry slasher horrors.

Their films frequently horrified critics, but became a staple of video rental stores: with Cannon Films cranking out as many as 50 or so pictures a year at its peak, the company's distinctive logo and self-explanatory film titles (New Year's Evil, Avenging Force, Enter The Ninja) were ubiquitous throughout the 80s and early 90s. The company was eventually brought down by its fast-and-loose approach to film production,...

With The Expendables bringing 80s action movies back, Duncan salutes the homoerotic classic moments of the genre...

For those of us out there that consider ourselves action movie fans, there is one decade that stands above all others: the eighties. I think it's fairly safe to assume, as well, that it's unlikely to ever be surpassed in terms of the stars it held up.

You know the list of names by now. Just cast an eye at The Expendables poster and then add the likes of Dudikoff, Seagal, Van Damme, Norris, Swayze and Steve James (may they both rest in peace), yet there are still more.

In retrospect, that decade also seems slightly innocent in the way it viewed the world. AIDS awareness was only just starting, homosexuality was still very much misunderstood and taboo, and as the Reagan era tried to swing Hollywood to the right, it very much...