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Multiple controversies related to the wuxia subgenre of martial arts cinema led to the emergence of the kung fu subgenre, which offered audiences a more realistic depiction of martial arts when compared to wuxia movies. The kung fu subgenre of martial arts cinema experienced its first explosion in popularity during the late 1940s and early 1950s through a series of films based on the life of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. Kwan Tak-Hing starred as Wong Fei-hung in approximately 80 movies between 1949 and the early 1980s.

Kung fu cinema entered its Golden Age during the early 1970s. Stars such as Jimmy Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, and Bruce Lee elevated the kung fu genre to unprecedented international acclaim and box office success. The 1990s saw kung fu actors like Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh continue to make iconic works within the genre. Drunken Master II, Once Upon a Time in China,...

Thanks to the continued dominance of the home video market and digitization of cable TV, horror’s identity in the ’90s was doomed to be tricky to nail down, thanks to the vast sea of options beyond theatrical releases. For every Candyman or Scream released in theaters, there are dozens more of straight-to-video or made-for-cable horror movies.

This week, we’re diving a little deeper into the ’90s catalog, spotlighting underseen ’90s horror movies that flew under the radar. These streaming picks run the gamut in style and tone, from esoteric extreme French horror to gonzo Hong Kong cinema and beyond.

Here’s where you can stream them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

Baby Blood – AMC+, Kanopy

Well before the rise of New French Extremity horror, there was 1990’s bizarre Baby Blood. Yanka is a circus performer stuck in an abusive relationship until a...

Fan Siu-wong, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Mike Star, Fred Stoller, Johnny Barnes, Keanu Reeves’ fist, and Hugo WeavingScreenshot: YouTube

With the release of Amazon’s Mma-inspired remake of Road House, The A.V. Club is looking at the most brutal, compelling, and consequential punches to the face in cinema. Now,...

Watching Santastein as part of this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival felt like unwrapping a Christmas gift extra early this past summer, so I'm especially excited that Manuel Camilion and Benjamin Edelman's new holiday horror film is coming to Screambox on December 19th as part of their streaming lineup this month!

Below, you can check out the previous Santastein trailer and details on Screambox's December streaming lineup (which also includes Rare Exports), and in case you missed it, feel free to read my Popcorn Frights review of Santastein, which brings Santa Claus back to life with a blood-splattered vengeance!

Santastein synopsis: Max was only six years old when he accidentally burned Santa to a crisp on Christmas Eve. 12 years later, Max attempts to raise Santa from the dead in order to fix his past mistakes and restore the Christmas spirit. But he soon realizes that the creature he has...

December is here and Screambox has announced their lilneup of programming. There is a lot of Argento, a lot of festive holiday horror treats and some festival faves coming this month.    Screambox December Streaming Line-Up Includes Adam Chaplin, Santastein, Devils, Phenomena, Eaten Alive   Screambox has revealed the new films that are joining the horror streaming service in December, including Adam Chaplin, Santastein, Devils, Phenomena, and Eaten Alive.   Fresh off its Beyond Fest premiere, the extended cut of Adam Chaplin is streaming exclusively on Screambox now. Drawing comparison to The Crow, Fist of the North Star, and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, the unrated Italian splatterfest is a must-see for gorehounds.   Santa Claus has come to Screambox in Rare Exports. From Sisu...

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

Screambox has revealed the new films that are joining the horror streaming service in December, including the goriest film you’ve never seen, Adam Chaplin, as well as the “Frankenstein”-inspired Santastein, body-swap thriller Devils, and classics Dario Argento’s Phenomena and Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive.

Fresh off its Beyond Fest premiere, the extended cut of Adam Chaplin is streaming exclusively on Screambox now! Drawing comparison to The Crow, Fist of the North Star, and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, the unrated Italian splatterfest is a must-see for gorehounds.

Santa Claus has also come to Screambox in Rare Exports, also now streaming. From Sisu director Jalmari Helander, the Finnish film joins Screambox’s Yuletide Fear collection alongside exclusives like Secret Santa and Night of the Missing and such classics as Black Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly Night 2.

Violent South Korean thriller Devils streams exclusively on Screambox on December 5. It...

Dear Danny and Kelley,What a joy this time of the year to reconnect with old cinephile friends, and to meet new ones. The film festival I’ve been to more times than any other, Tiff seems to grow more personally important with each new visit—as a locus of discovery, an escape from the routine, a sanctuary and a labyrinth, exhausting and intoxicating. Could even a vérité master like Frederick Wiseman capture all its contradictions? The cinema and people I encounter during my ten days here comprise a refuge, a reminder of sublime possibilities in the midst of brutish realities. Art keeps the beast at bay, or so they say. Indeed, the very first film I saw, Alain Gomis’ Félicité, opens with just such a clash. In a roisterous Congolese bar, various squabbles hush up as a woman steps up to the microphone for a fierce, gorgeous song. As...

20. Story of Ricky (Lik wong) – Starring Siu-Wong Fan as the titular character, Riki Oh, based on a manga series which eventually became an anime, marks the end of an era of Japanese exploitation flicks, before the new generation of filmmakers such as Takashi Miike took over. Unlike Miike’s movies, or other recent entries such as Tokyo Gore Police, Riki Oh’s tone borders on comedy, played up by bad voice dubbing, foolish plot lines, cartoonish gore and eccentric characters (including a one-eyed assistant warden with a hook for a hand). For a prison film, the movie never seems mean-spirited, and if anything it masquerades as a bizarre superhero flick. The effects are the main draw – Riki Oh exists simply to showcase several outlandish set pieces, ramping up the level of violence, gore and action with each new scene. Made before the days of CGI, director Lam relies simply on practical effects,...

To celebrate the release of Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky – available on special DVD and Blu-ray dual format 27th July – we have a copy to give away! Easily the most amazingly violent and gory movie ever to emerge… Continue Reading →

The post UK Readers — Win a Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Blu-ray/DVD Combo! appeared first on Dread Central.

To celebrate the release of Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky – available on special DVD & Blu-ray dual format 27th July – we have a copy to giveaway!

Easily the most amazingly violent and gory movie ever to emerge from Hong Kong and subsequently banned in many countries around the world, Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky is 88 minutes of the purest, unadulterated, blood-soaked fun ever to be passed by the BBFC. A radical fusion of brutal martial artistry, extreme violence and dark visuals, this masterpiece features some of the most outrageously graphic and convincing ‘splatter’ effects in the history of cinema.

Order today on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LHO9yC

To win a copy of Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky on Blu-ray, just answer the following question:

Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky is rated 18 here in the UK. But what is the films rating in the Far East? Is it:

a) R18

b...

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Written and Directed by Ngai Choi Lam

China, 1991

Adapted from a Japanese manga released in the late 1980s, which was then turned into an anime series, Ngai Choi Lam’s 1991 film, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, is gory, goofy greatness. Called the “best comic book adaptation ever created” by Hobo with a Shotgun director Jason Eisener, who provides a brief but zealous introduction to the film on the newly released Blu-ray, this absurdly enjoyable martial arts picture is the definition of over the top.

In the year 2001, Riki-Oh Saiga (Fan Siu Wong) arrives in prison to serve 10 years for manslaughter and assault. Aside from the conviction itself, we know little about Riki, about who he killed and why. He has five bullets lodged in his chest (“souvenirs” he calls them), and in general, he seems to be a seriously durable individual. It’s only through...

It’s another 13th of the month. Here’s our top 13 list of unconventional murder weapons. All contributions are by the staff and listed as such.

Deadly Friend Death by Basketball

by Mike Hassler

Deadly Friend is not a good movie. At all. Wes Craven’s really hit or miss, in case you didn’t already realize this — for every Last House on the Left there’s a Vampire in Brooklyn, and for a Nightmare on Elm Street there’s a Shocker. His 1986 cheese-tastic gem Deadly Friend is quite a fun watch just for it’s terrible nature. The preposterous plot is of a young man implanting a computer chip into the girl next door’s brain which then gives her superpowers and causes her to go homicidal. The best moment? When our cybernetically altered hottie Samantha (Kristy Swanson) chucks a basketball at Anne “Mama” Ramsey’s head, which literally...

Today we're taking a look at the bloodiest non-horror movies of all time. Of course, blood and guts don't guarantee a horror movie will be great… but it sure adds some spice to movies outside the genre!

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)

It wasn't easy choosing a movie to represent the goriest martial arts flicks. But then we thought about Riki-Oh, and no other contender even came close. The Hong Kong action flick, written and directed by Lam Nai-choi, instantly attained cult status in the U.S. thanks to a cheesy English dub, its overblown violence, and it's massive camp appeal. Plus, you may remember that a clip of this movie (where one guy karate chops and explodes another guy’s head) often played in the early days of The Daily Show. (Appropriately, it was the Moment of Zen.) The plot follows Ricky, a man sent to prison for killing a crime boss.

Odd List Ryan Lambie 4 Oct 2013 - 06:41

They're funny, they're sad, they're weird. Here are 50 famous last words from characters in the movies...

Please Note: There are potential spoilers ahead. Check the name of the film, and if you haven't seen it, don't read the entry!

As someone famous probably once said, “We’ve all gotta go sometime,” and if we’re going to die, we might as well do so with a witticism or a memorable line rather than a scream and a cry for mother. Which is the subject of this lengthy but far from definitive list: the memorable things movie characters have uttered shortly (not necessarily immediately) before they’re about to meet their maker.

Some of these last words are long, tear-jerking monologues. Others amount to little more than a word or two. But all of them, in our estimation, are worthy of mention, and one...

In the spirit of Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky comes a gore-soaked new film that's not just ready to exorcise your demons but kick their ass and then beat them into a bloody pulp. Get ready, kids! Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger is on his way to save us all!

From the Press Release

Autonomy Pictures reveals the official release date, box art and special features for the upcoming DVD release of Emanuele De Santi's Italian gore extravaganza Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger. The film will be released through Autonomy Pictures in North America on June 4, 2013, and in France on June 19, 2013.

Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger is written and directed by Emanuele De Santi, who also stars in the film as the lead character. The film also features Valeria Sannino, Paolo Luciani, Alessandro Gramanti, and Wilmar Zimosa; it's produced by Giulio De Santi and his company Necrostorm.

Set in...

While we recently catalogued "The Most Violent Movie Titles of All Time" we wondered to ourselves, "But what are the straight-up most violent movies?" That line of thinking led to a lot of sordid YouTube viewing and a shameful amount of personal moviegoing recollection, with this list as the meat byproduct.

This gore-dripped inventory wound up with a few perennial fanboy faves, a few surprises and a total absence of any Korean or Japanese flicks. (!) There are, however, three entries from America's loan forgiveness officer, China, so prepare to wolf down a big dish of bloody chow mein.

9. 'The Devil's Rejects' (2005)

What Are you smokin', Rob Zombie? The dreadlocked White Zombie frontman clearly wanted to top his handywork at "The House of 1000 Corpses," so he switched genre gears by putting that film's homicidal Firefly family on the run from Johnny law. The result is a grungy exploitation...

This week on The Collision, we'll be looking back at 2012 and looking ahead to 2013. We'll reflect on last year's disappointments, sleeper hits, and the challenge of knowing what could be the hits and misses of the coming year. We'll also comment on what we're looking forward to, and as always, finish up with our recommendations. Click here to listen to the new episode of The Collision, click here for the previous episode ("Race and Django Unchained"), click here to add the podcast to your RSS, and click here to find us on iTunes. To keep up to date with The Collision, you can follow us on Twitter at @MattGoldberg, @AdamChitwood, and @DrClawMD (Dave Trumbore). Hit the jump to check out the trailers for this week’s recommendations. Adam's Recommendation: Sleepwalk with Me Dave's Recommendation: Goon Matt's Recommendation: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky [note: after we were done recording, Adam reminded me that I had already recommended this movie before. However, I honestly did rewatch it a couple nights ago, and was reminded of its brilliance, so I still strongly recommend it, although I apologize for repeating myself.]...

One of the best parts of Netflix’s streaming service is the instant access to content produced in every corner of the globe, from underground cult sensations to award-winning festival fare. For those with stronger stomachs and a thirst for genre films, Netflix now offers an ultra-violent prison film, a gut-wrenching drama based on real life serial killings and a gorgeous Chinese horror. The New and Noteworthy Riki-Oh: The Story of Riky (1991) In the near-future (2001), Riki-Oh is convicted of manslaughter and thrown into a for-profit prison run by a corrupt warden. Serving the administration and maintaining order behind the bars is the brutal Gang of Four and when Riki-Oh becomes the target of the warden’s ire, he finds himself in a violent battle for survival. Eyeballs are ejected, stomachs ripped open and heads liquified as Riki-Oh clashes with the Gang of Four and, in a blood-drenched finale that must be seen to be believed, the...

RZA - yes, from the Wu-Tang Clan - is starting up his own film career, and a new trailer has been released for his debut feature The Man with the Iron Fists. Embedded below!

RZA had collaborated before with Quentin Tarantino with the music for Kill Bill, and apparently has his own enthusiasm for martial arts homage. The Man with the Iron Fists is just that, and revolves around some sort of ass kicking blacksmith in China who forges himself into a weapon to fight some bad guys who presumably did something really bad.

I love over-the-top martial arts. Films such as Master of the Flying Guillotine and the ever gruesome Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky are highly entertaining. That said, I'm not entirely sold here. There is a good amount of positive buzz going around the internet based on this trailer; but I have to wonder how much of...

Just released on the Fright-Rags Facebook page moments ago is teaser artwork for 3 upcoming shirts. The first is for "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky". From IMDb: "A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system." The second is for "Prom Night II". From IMDb: "When Hamilton High's Prom Queen of 1957, Mary Lou Maloney is killed by her jilted boyfri…...

Last week, we re-arranged our episode to avoid The Cabin in the Woods spoilers. This week, we're back to the good old format ("old": the one we used for our first two episodes) of news, reviews, and recommendations. On Episode 4 of The Collision, Adam Chitwood and I were joined by the lovely and talented Jason Barr (Dave was unavailable this week, but he'll be back next week). The three of us talked about viral campaigns, and how much they provide as a prologue to the movie and how well they work as a marketing tool. We also discussed the fourth season of Arrested Development airing all at once, and we looked at the line-up for this year's Cannes Film Festival. On the review front, we decided to skip this week's new release (oddly, no one wanted to see The Lucky One) and instead talked about The Raid: Redemption. Click...

0:00 - Intro 1:50 - Review: 21 Jump Street 28:50 - Headlines: Michael Bay’s Tmnt Will Be Aliens?, New Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Leprechaun Reboot, Walmart Launches DVD to Digital Conversion Program, Dark Shadows Trailer 50:50 - Other Stuff We Watched: 30 Rock Season 4 and 5, Scrubs Season 5, Roll Tide/War Eagle, Unguarded, The Fab Five, Marion Jones: Press Pause, The Boys of Fall, My Breakfast with Blassie, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, Recoil, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wiebo's War, Contact, Hall Pass, Semi-Pro, Carlito's Way 1:18:30 - Junk Mail: The Expendables 2 Could Be Rated R After All, Woody Allen and Midnight in Paris, Interactive Smartphone Games in Cinemas, The Arbor, Top 100 Movies 1:37:35 - Celebrity Apprentice Recap 1:41:25 - This Week's DVD Releases 1:43:30 - Outro

Film Junk Podcast Episode #362: 21 Jump Street by Filmjunk on Mixcloud

» Download...

As Twitch informs us, Ben Wheatley, whose Kill List hits theaters next week (a movie I haven’t seen yet, but many are raving about), is looking to make an ultraviolent prison exploitation movie — using claymation, no less. Called Megaevilmotherfuckers, the article compares Wheatley‘s vision to that of 1991 Hong Kong cult classic Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, which followed a prison inmate with superhuman strength getting revenge on the corrupt guards and officials by way of martial arts. (Hobo with a Shotgun director Jason Eisener also referenced the movie, in regards to his next projects, during my interview with him from last year’s SXSW.) Wheatley will be teaming up with Lee Hardcastle (whose claymation short T for Toilet will be featured in the upcoming ABC’s of Death) to make the movie.

But before he can get to that, Wheatley has a bunch of other projects to get through first.

Moviefone's Pick of the Week

"Moneyball"

What's It About? Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the real-life General Manager for the Oakland A's who adopted a controversial new approach to building a team through sabermetric statistics, rather than tried-and-true old-school scouting.

See It Because: Even though the true story behind "Moneyball" has upset baseball purists, the film still feels like a rousing underdog movie. With a crackling script by Aaron Sorkin and a (most likely) Oscar nominated performance from Pitt, it's easy to see why we named it one of the best movies of the year.

Also Available on Redbox DVD&Blu-ray | Amazon Instant Video

Also New on DVD & Blu-ray

"Killer Elite"

Jason Statham must go through Clive Owen (and a team of deadly assassins) to rescue his mentor, Robert De Niro.

Also Available on Amazon Instant Video

"What's Your Number?"

Anna Faris stars in a new romantic comedy about...

Welcome to the day late edition of This Week In DVD! It’s late! I’d apologize, but I’m currently enjoying the wonders of Austin’s Fantastic Fest and have been deprived of sleep and nutritious foods for far too long. But still, better late than never. This week’s titles include Criterion’s release of Carlos, the African action pic Viva Riva, the laughably bad The Ledge, the hilarious Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, and more! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Ricky is a young man with incredible martial arts skills. He’s fast and agile, but more importantly he can rip your innards from your body with deadly precision. This decades old Hong Kong flick is over the top ridiculous in the violence and gore on display and not coincidentally is awesome. There...

Now that our new house is settling, we wanted to bring back our weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Releases posts. We are calling this weekly post “Home Invasion”. If you plan on purchasing these items via Amazon, all you need to do is click on the buttons provided or on the artwork and not only do you get the same price you normally would with Amazon, but you help us out a little bit as well – which is all we ask because this list does take some time to put together.

All Descriptions are from Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. We have excluded the Netflix code on this particular post. This is due to all of the changes with Netflix and their DVD mailing program. If you want us to include the code in future Home Invasion posts, where you just click a button to add it to your queue, leave us a comment below.

Well any opportunity to see such modern genre classics as Let The Right One In and The Host on the big screen is a good thing. And when that comes with screenings of Nicholas Winding Refn's Bronson, Onk-Bak and the criminally under-seen comedy, The Great World of Sound even better. This all falls under the banner for Bam Cinematek's 10 Years of Magnolia Pictures program running from August 24th - 29th & 31st. The series showcases 13 films from the independent distributor's catalog; the full line-up and schedule can be found below.Meanwhile on August 1st, 2nd and 8th three seminal Hong Kong films play. And these three would be: Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky, Dragon Inn and (as you can see by the poster), Zu:...

If you're anything like us, you're salivating over the notion of seeing every head-crushing, bone-snapping, intestine-strangling moment of Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky on Blu-ray and in high definition. That being said, we have a look at the artwork for ya! Dig it!

From the Press Release: Media Blasters Inc. and their Tokyo Shock label are proud to announce the North American Blu-ray release of The Story Of Ricky, the legendary Hong Kong splatter-piece written and directed by Lam Nai-choi based on the deranged Japanese manga Riki-oh! For the first time, Ricky has been re-mastered in vivid blood-red high-definition and will be re-issued on DVD and premiered on Blu-ray on September 27th!

Now, the legion of Ricky connoisseurs will be able to savor every head-crush, fist-thrust, and dismemberment on Blu-ray! New supplementary materials include an exclusive on-camera tribute and appreciation of Ricky by Hobo With A Shotgun director Jason Eisener.

Do you know what this means, dear readers? I finally have a genuine reason to part with the old Hong Kong bootleg I’ve had for several long years. Tokyo Shock is tentatively scheduled to release this notoriously hilarious Cat III actioner on September 27th, 2011. I generally don’t get too excited about Blu-ray releases, but the very thought of watching the head-crushing, tendon-tying madness in high definition is almost too much to take. If you haven’t seen “Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky”, this will be an excellent opportunity for your entire family to discover one of the most deeply satisfying hyper-violent prison flicks known to mankind. Take a gander at the embedded trailer before continuing on to the somewhat disappointing Blu-ray artwork. Source: Twitch...

[Originally posted June 27, 2011]Alert!  This is preliminary information, but I have it from the horse's mouth that the Tokyo Shock division of Media Blasters is releasing Hong Kong splatter classic Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky on Blu-ray this September 27th.  Any fans of Twitch Top Kills should be very familiar with this film, and any fan of Cat III Hong Kong films has probably seen it numerous times.  This is very welcome news as every available version of the film that I've seen has been less than stellar.  Media Blasters has a bit of a mixed record among home video fans.  They have released tons of fan favorites over the years through their Tokyo Shock, Media Blasters, and Shriek Show labels, and while many...

Get ready New Yorkers: the 2011 New York Asian Film Festival, two weeks of amazing (and sometimes amazingly weird) cinema, starts today at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater. This year's lineup is massive, so here are a few recommendations to get you started. There are lots of other good films at the fest, but you absolutely cannot miss these three.

"Sell Out!"

Directed by Yeo Joon Han, 2008

If "Dr. Strangelove" and "Office Space" had a baby, and then that baby was raised in a karaoke bar, it might look something like "Sell Out!" a hilarious, demented, and wildly creative comic musical from Malaysia. The film opens with TV host Rafflesia Pong (Jerrica Lai) interviewing a totally nude man named "Yeo Joon Han" -- a.k.a. the director of the movie we're watching -- in honor of his being named the Kryzhindangzhongbushaus Village Far Easter Film Festival's Young Oversea-Chinese Women New...

Every summer in New York City there are a multitude of unique events to keep you cool when the streets get too hot. Yet nothing is quite as cool as the annual New York Asian Film Festival, celebrating its tenth year, where avid film enthusiasts flock from all 5 boroughs to uncover hidden cinematic gems rarely seen outside the far east. It’s here where I discovered one of my top films from last year Confessions, which I would have never been able to see otherwise. This is a prime example of why I encourage people to check out the fest, to expand their horizons and diversify their filmic taste. In addition, the festival is run by some of the most energetic, kind-hearted and passionate people who put the whole thing together out of pure love for this unique blend of Asian cinema.

This year features a stellar lineup of amazing titles,...

That's right, kids! You want flicks that are so strange and screwed up that you need to watch them countless times to be sure of what you saw? And you need to see them in glorious high definition? Well, hold on to your asses because we have some incredible news for you!

According to High Def Digest, Mpi (bless their black little hearts) is working on the 1972 horror film Horror Express starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Telly Savalas for a Blu-ray release on September 27th!

Synopsis

An English anthropologist has discovered a frozen monster in the frozen wastes of Manchuria which he believes may be the Missing Link. He brings the creature back to Europe aboard the Trans-Siberian Express, but during the trip the monster thaws out and starts to butcher the passengers one by one.

Not enough for you? Try this on for size!

According to Twitch Film on that very same day,...

Twitch is reporting that Media Blaster’s Asian label, Tokyo Shock, is releasing a Blu-ray edition of the gore-classic, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky on September 27th. Of course, it is Media Blasters who has announced titles and us fans were left wondering where the hell they were come street date only to find info in online forums of release date delays.

But Twitch is pretty reliable. For those left in the dark, Riki-Oh‘s plot is rather simple on the surface: “A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system.” But fans also love the film for its extreme violence and the over-the-top quality of it all.

Since this is preliminary, no cover art, extras, or specs have been announced. Chances we see this by the said release date? I say 25% chance…...

Alert!  This is preliminary information, but I have it from the horse's mouth that the Tokyo Shock division of Media Blasters is releasing Hong Kong splatter classic Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky on Blu-ray this September 27th.  Any fans of Twitch Top Kills should be very familiar with this film, and any fan of Cat III Hong Kong films has probably seen it numerous times.  This is very welcome news as every available version of the film that I've seen has been less than stellar.  Media Blasters has a bit of a mixed record among home video fans.  They have released tons of fan favorites over the years through their Tokyo Shock, Media Blasters, and Shriek Show labels, and while many have been great, some...

The New York Asian Film Festival has announced that its tenth anniversary edition will open on July 1 with the North American premiere of Yoshimasa Ishibashi's Milocrorze: A Love Story ("one solid slab of psychedelia," promises the festival; image above) and close on July 14 with the New York premiere of Na Hong-Jin's The Yellow Sea (aka The Murderer), which has just screened at Cannes in Un Certain Regard (see the roundup).

There'll be two Centerpiece Presentations, Benny Chan's Shaolin, with Andy Lau, Nic Tse and Jackie Chan, and Takashi Miike's Ninja Kids!!! — which, you may remember Danny Kasman caught in Cannes, and got quite a nice kick out of it, too. The festival will also be screening Miike's "director's cut" of 13 Assassins.

There'll be three special focuses. First off...

Wu Xia: Hong Kong's Flying Swordsmen

Tsui Hark's Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame...

The Tribeca Film Festival has the stars. The New York Film Festival has the award winners. But the New York Asian Film Festival has the coolest, boldest, and strangest genre movies, and that's why it holds a special place in my heart. While most festivals specialize in quote-unquote arthouse fare, Nyaff brings the Asian mainstream -- the stuff that would almost never play here otherwise -- to America.

We're big fans of the Nyaff at IFC and we're looking forward to another excellent edition this year. The lineup was just announced and it looks stacked. It includes a few superb films I saw at last year's Fantastic Fest, including the entertaining exploitation documentary "Machete Maidens Unleashed" from "Not Quite Hollywood" director Mark Hartley. The stuff I'm jazzed to see for the first time includes the world premiere of Takashi Miike's "Ninja Kids!!!" (their exclamation points, not mine), "Ocean Heaven,...

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping

Written by: To Chi-long

Cast: Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, Jay Chou, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, David Carradine, Guo Xiaodong, Feng Xiaogang, Cung Le, Gordon Liu, Leung Kar Yan, Jacky Heung

It's fairly common to see a humble warrior rise to greatness in film - especially within kung fu movies - but it's not quite as common when the rising warrior is also completely and utterly out of his mind.

Su Can (Vincent Zhao) has it all together when things are going reasonably well. He's just led an army through a crushing victory as its general, and is on his way to being promoted to governor. Humble to a fault, he instead passes the promotion onto his brooding foster-brother, and returns home to study his beloved Wu Shu and spend time with his wife and son.

He might have made a better choice; it turns out that his foster brother,...

Don’t waste your time asking director Jason Eisener how many people die in his shlock-tastic bloodbath Hobo With a Shotgun. “I don’t know,” laughs the Canadian filmmaker. “I haven’t done a kill count!”

Interested parties can do their own murder-math from today as the Rutger Hauer-starring Hobo begins its theatrical run in New York and Austin. To get you in the mood for the mayhem, we asked Mr. Eisener to give us his favorite (and often very Nsfw) movie murders, which you can watch after the jump.

The Fury (1978)

Telekinetic body explosion

Jason Eisener: The bird’s-eye view is mind-blowing.

Alliance VivaFilm is joining forces with the Fantasia Film Festival to give Hobo With A Shotgun the spectacular Cdn launch it deserves, and thanks to them we are giving away 10 double passes.

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On March 21st, Montreal will play host to the Canadian premiere of Jason Eisener’s epic feature debut Hobo With a Shotgun, starring the inimitable Rutger Hauer, and we’ve got ten (10!) double passes to give away! The screening, which will be hosted by Eisener along with producer Robert Cotterill, will also feature a bonus second feature: a glorious 35mm print of Ngai Kai Lam’s infamous 1991 cult flick Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, along with a host of vintage grindhouse/exploitation trailers. Here is a caption from our review from Sundance…

“Hobo With a Shotgun delivers what it promises and will satisfy midnight movie gore-hounds. There is a blithe stream-of-self-awareness at play here, similar to what...

10. Rambo (2008) –50-Cal Machine Gun Attack

Browning M2 machine guns have been around since the 1930s, so what makes this scene so ridiculous and even funny? Try using said monster gun on a terrorist sitting five feet away. The result is an explosion of glass, guts, and metal in the front seat of a jeep. Rambo then proceeds to cut a dozen guys clean in half with the 50-caliber machine gun. The carnage takes on absurd heights throughout the entire movie (bare-handed throat rip!) but this scene is the ultimate representation of overkill – literally.

9. Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987) – Skater’s Death

Guys who skateboard on their hands for no reason kinda deserve to die. Actually, calling yourself “Skater” is reason enough to die. So luckily for us, this idiot encounters a pair of muscleheads who happen to be toting a multi-barreled bazooka. Then again, these dudes seem to be invulnerable to a bullet in the chest,...

In our latest installment of our ongoing podcast series, Running Dialogue, Russ, Curt, and I discuss Black Swan, The Tourist, and Four Lions. All three of us talk about Black Swan and our various issues with the film. Russ and I talk The Tourist and how it fails and then Curt and I talk about Four Lions and how it succeeds. Since I was the only one of us who saw all three films, I proclaim myself the King of all Movies for all-time.

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the jump for a list of all the movies we’ve recommended so far. Finally, click here to add Running Dialogue to your RSS feed.

Running Dialogue #20 – Black Swan, The Tourist, and Four Lions

Curt – Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary Matt – The Red Shoes

Russ – Videodrome

Running Dialogue #19 – Harry Potter and the...

In the latest installment of our ongoing podcast series, Russ, Curt, and I discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Next Three Days. Also, since it’s finally expanding to the greater Atlanta area, we talk about Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. While all three of us liked these movies, we each had our own particular qualms. We also go into spoiler territory on Deathly Hallows at the end of the episode, so be sure you listen after you’ve seen the movie if you want to get Russ’ thoughts on particular deus ex machinas in the movie as well as my issue regarding the unclear nature of one character’s fate.

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the jump for a list of all the movies we’ve recommended so far. Finally, click here to add Running Dialogue to your RSS feed.

Happy Halloween! This latest installment of our ongoing podcast is about all things zombies as Russ, Curt, and I talk about The Walking Dead. We discuss the first two episodes of AMC’s new series (the season premiere airs tonight; read Ethan’s review here), the appeal of zombies, what makes The Walking Dead shamble apart from other zombie properties, and other matters of the undead.

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the jump for a list of all the movies we’ve recommended so far. Finally, click here to add Running Dialogue to your RSS feed.

Running Dialogue #18 – The Walking Dead

Curt – I Walked with a Zombie and Not Quite Hollywood Matt – Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks Russ – American Grindhouse

Running Dialogue #17 – Jackass 3D, Red, and Catfish

Curt – Topkapi Matt – Beauty and the Beast (1991) Russ – (anti-recommendation!) Paranormal Activity

Running Dialogue #16 – 2010 Fall Movies,...

In the latest installment of our ongoing podcast series, Running Dialogue, we talk about two new films and one that’s been out for a few weeks but is worth some discussion. When it comes to Jackass 3D, we had a fun conversation since I was new to the series and Russ and Curt had seen the movies and the show. We all tried to muster some enthusiasm for Red, but each had our own problems with the film. Finally, although Russ hadn’t seen it, he was cool with Curt and me discussing Catfish. We save that discussion for the end since we go into heavy spoilers and you should try going into that film knowing as little as possible (but do go into it since Curt and I agree that it’s a great movie).

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the...

In the latest installment of our ongoing podcast series, Russ, Curt, and I take a look ahead at some of the films coming out over the rest of the year. While there’s overlap between some of the films we talk about and those on my 15 Most-Anticipated list, we also discuss David O. Russell’s The Fighter and the festival sensation The King’s Speech. Finally, we go on a bit of a tangent as Curt gives his thoughts on the first six episodes of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, and Russ talks about the incredible-sounding Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse live/undead-experience.

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the jump for a list of all the movies we’ve recommended so far. Finally, click here to add Running Dialogue to your RSS feed.

Running Dialogue #16 – 2010 Fall Movies, Boardwalk Empire, and the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse

No recommendations this week.

In this week’s installment of Running Dialogue, we discuss three movies about folks serving up healthy dishes of murder to other folks: Anton Corbijn’s The American, Neil Marshall’s Centurion, and Robert Rodriguez’ Machete. Of the three films, The American is a film that demands to be discussed due to its quiet and contemplative nature, and after talking it out with Russ and Curt, I liked the movie even more. Our discussion of Machete also led to a conversation about this summer movie season and how most of the big films disappointed but the smaller films like Exit Through the Gift Shop and Get Low were worth checking out.

Click here to listen to the new episode. Also, you can hit the jump for a list of all the movies we’ve recommended so far. Finally, click here to add Running Dialogue to your RSS feed.

Running Dialogue #15 – The American,...

Not only has Edgar Wright directed the greatest love-letter to Toronto ever penned (not to mention to comics, video games and Hk action - see Shelagh and Todd's review) he has given the city itself fantastic opportunities to immerse itself in celluloid classics through his terrific film series The Wright Stuff. Last year during production of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, he screened a dozen of his favorite films including the severely underrated Philip Kaufman masterpiece The Wanderers, Busby Berkely's Dames and David Cronenberg's The Brood to name a few. 

Now back in town for the press tour of Scott Pilgrim, he's wrangled up a new series of faves and he's screening them this weekend at the Toronto Underground Cinema, along with a double bill of his already classic comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

Here's the skinny:

August 6th7:00pm Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright,...

While shooting Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in our fair city last year, director Edgar Wright made Toronto his home. When Wright wasn’t busy making his movie—which wasn’t often—he was engaging with the local film community. On several occasions he curated his Wright Stuff film series at a local movie house that shall remain nameless.

But that was 2009. This is 2010 and Scott Pilgrim is about to be released. To celebrate Wright’s hipster video game odyssey he is bringing The Wright Stuff back to Toronto. Starting this Friday, August 6th the Toronto Underground Cinema will play host to Wright and The Wright Stuff all weekend!

August 6

7:00 — Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)

9:30 — Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007)

August 7

7:00 — Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980)

9:30 — Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Lam Ngai Kai, 1991)

August 8

7:00 — Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986)

9:30 — Another ridiculous teen comedy to be confirmed.

Welcome to the absurd. The Seventh Curse is one of the most unreasonably entertaining B-movies you'll see out of Hong Kong, mainly because it’s so fucking insane. The names involved already promises a bastard of a movie; with a screenplay by low-brow legend Wong Jing (who has written and directed over 100 movies, including the God of Gamblers series and a couple of Jet Li films), and directed by Ngai Kai Lam (the director of cult favorite Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky).

I stumbled onto The Seventh Curse somewhat by accident many years ago, when I was on a Chow Yun Fat binge. I didn’t even realize who the director was at first; but was then pleasantly surprised, needless to say. This one, I dare say, actually tops Riki-Oh in terms of being completely over-the-top, which anyone who has seen Riki-Oh can tell you, is a feat worthy of the Louvre.