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The iconic 1994 goth comic book action film The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, will soon be available for streaming. Two of its sequels will be joining the movie.

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, fans of gothic storytelling and supernatural vengeance can revisit this cult classic on Paramount+. Directed by Alex Proyas, The Crow combines haunting visuals, a powerful narrative, and a memorable performance by Lee, making it one of the most celebrated comic book adaptations of all time. Its atmospheric soundtrack and unique visual style have further cemented its status as a timeless masterpiece.

Related The Crow's Brandon Lee Tragedy, Explained

Alex Proya's The Crow (1994) is a beloved film that still holds up 30 years later, but it also tragically lost its breakout star, Brandon Lee.

From Comic Book to Cult Classic

The journey of The Crow from comic book to screen is as compelling as the story itself. Created by James O’Barr, The Crow...

80s action legend Dolph Lundgren reveals what he learned from working with Sylvester Stallone on Rocky IV, and how this later evolved with The Expendables franchise. Lundgren became a European karate champion in 1980-81, before moving to New York City to study acting in the mid-1980s, eventually securing his movie debut with a supporting role in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill. Following this, Lundgren went on to have a strong career as an action hero in movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Red Scorpion, Masters of the Universe, Showdown in Little Tokyo, and Universal Soldier.

In a panel with Screen Rant at Fan Expo San Francisco, The Punisher star discusses what he learned working with Stallone on Rocky IV, and how their relationship evolved in their reunion 25 years later. Lundgren's breakout role came in 1985 when he portrayed Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV....

I Come in Peace… You Go in Pieces!

So goes one of the coolest one-liners I have ever heard, and it’s part of one of the most unheralded Christmas action movies ever. Now, Christmas action movies have always been a thing. Something about the juxtaposition of the holidays and ultra-violent action has always been irresistible to Hollywood. In movies like First Blood and To Live and Die in LA, the holiday theme makes the desperately violent scenario all the more grim. At the same time, other classics like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard ultimately have Christmas messages about friendship and family that come through just as strongly as in a straight-up Christmas movie like It’s a Wonderful Life.

Yet, not every Christmas action flick becomes a classic, which brings me to this special Christmas edition of The Best Movie You Never Saw, where we tackle the Dolph Lundgren Actioner I Come In Peace,...

Your honor, I must confess — I have a mighty big soft spot for "The Devil's Advocate." The 1997 supernatural courtroom thriller stars Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax, a hotshot Florida lawyer (with the world's sketchiest Southern accent) who is recruited by a fiendish defense attorneys office in New York, run by the charismatic and slightly terrifying John Milton (Al Pacino). As he abandons his morals in order to win cases, Kevin's wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) starts having horrific visions with demonic influences. You see, Milton isn't just devilishly handsome and talented, he's also actually the devil himself.

"The Devil's Advocate" completely hinges on Pacino's performance, as he plays Milton with a kind of outlandish delight that only a rare few of our greatest actors could ever attempt. It's a little bit Tony Montana from "Scarface" when he's on copious amounts of coke and a little bit Lieutenant Hanna from "Heat,...

Alex Proyas' 1994 Gothic superhero-adjacent film "The Crow" -- based in the 1989 comic book by James O'Barr -- may not be the best film of the 1990s, but it might be the most 1990s film of the 1990s. Proyas' bleak, overdecorated Bauhaus aesthetic, paired with the film's self-pitying themes of violent, vengeful angst, speak incredibly loudly to the Gen-Xers who saw it as teens. "The Crow" gave voice to a certain generation's tendency to see the world as corrupt and untrustworthy, and it was only rising above death and destroying the evildoers that a bleak kind of catharsis might be achieved. "The Crow" is adolescent, yes, but important. 

The plot of "The Crow" is dark and simple. In a dark, alternate version of Detroit, Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) is shot and killed while he watches his fiancée (Sofia Shinas) get brutally assaulted. A mystical crow, however, finds Eric's departed soul and reunites it with his body,...

The Story: A college kid (Brandon Lee) witnesses a gangland hit. Betrayed by witness protection, he’s recruited by a task force headed by a no-nonsense cop (Powers Boothe) as a pawn, but little do they know he’s more than able to handle himself against any of his foes.

The Players: Starring: Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Tzi Ma & Nick Mancuso. Directed by Dwight H. Little.

The History: The early nineties were the heyday of the martial arts movie star. Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme were consistently churning out hits, so if they could become icons, why not a guy like Brandon Lee? He was movie star handsome, could move, was charismatic and could act. Oh yeah – he also happened to be the son of the greatest Kung-Fu movie star of all time, Bruce Lee.

“I wouldn’t want to refer to them as stepping stones. That seems to demean them.

About eight months ago, we heard that Natasha Henstridge of the first two Species movies and John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, among other credits, had signed on to star in Cinderella’s Revenge, which gives the classic fairy tale a horror twist. Last week, it was announced that the film is set to receive a theatrical release on April 26th, courtesy of Iconic Events. Now a trailer has arrived online to offer a glimpse of what this film has in store for us when it reaches the big screen, and you can check it out in the embed above.

This theatrical release is part of an exclusive deal with Regal, with Quiver Distribution handling all other rights in North America.

Starring Lauren Staerck (Curse of Jack Frost) as Cinderella, this gory twist on the fairy tale will show us what happens when Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters and stepmother push her too far,...

About eight months ago, we heard that Natasha Henstridge of the first two Species movies and John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, among other credits, had signed on to star in Cinderella’s Revenge, which gives the classic fairy tale a horror twist. The film was in production in the UK at the time, with Andy Edwards (Zombie Spring Breakers) directing for Sobini Films. Cinderella’s Revenge has since made its way through post-production, and now The Wrap reports that it’s set to receive a theatrical release on April 26th, courtesy of Iconic Events. They note that this theatrical release is part of an exclusive deal with Regal, with Quiver Distribution handling all other rights in North America.

Starring Lauren Staerck (Curse of Jack Frost) as Cinderella, this gory twist on the fairy tale will show us what happens when Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters and stepmother push her too far,...

Action icon Dolph Lundgren and Frasier himself Kelsey Grammer – who have actually worked together before, on The Expendables 3 – star in the upcoming action thriller Wanted Man, which is set to receive a theatrical, VOD, and digital release on January 19th. With that date just one month away, a trailer for Wanted Man has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above. A poster for the film has also been unveiled, and that can be found at the bottom of this article.

Lundgren also directed this film, working from a screenplay he wrote with Hank Hugues and Michael Worth. Here’s the synopsis: Johansen (Lundgren) is an aging detective, whose outdated policing methods have given the department a recent public relations problem. To save his job, he is sent to Mexico to extradite a female witness to the murders of two DEA agents. Once there, he finds...

It was announced today that Pat E. Johnson, who choreographed the fight scenes for the first four Karate Kid movies, has died at the age of 84.

Pat E. Johnson was a ninth-degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do and also served as vice president of the National Tang Soo Do Congress, which was created by Chuck Norris in 1973. He learned the Korean martial art while serving as a chaplain with the U.S. Army in Korea. He later met Chuck Norris at a karate tournament in Detroit and the pair quickly bonded. “He and I struck a really good bond at the time because we had both trained in Korea, we had both gotten our black belts in Korea,” Johnson said in a 2016 documentary. “He mentioned to me one time that ‘If you should ever decide to come to California, I think we could work really well together.’ I really...

Pat E. Johnson, the ninth-degree black belt and Chuck Norris contemporary who choreographed the fight scenes, trained the actors and portrayed a tournament referee in the first three Karate Kid films, has died. He was 84.

Johnson died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, Colleen Mary Johnson Summerville, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Johnson also was a stuntperson, stunt coordinator, trainer and/or fight coordinator on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat movies; and on other films including Enter the Dragon (1973), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Batman and Robin (1997) and Wild Wild West (1999).

Johnson served as a top instructor at Norris’ karate schools in the Los Angeles area starting in the late 1960s, and his students over the years included Steve McQueen, Bob Barker and members of the Osmond family.

For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson...

The episode of Revisited covering Class of 1984 was Written and Narrated by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Ryan Cultrera, Produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

In an upcoming video, we will be looking at the modern genre classic Vfw. I say genre because while my wife astutely pointed out that the drugged-up gang in Vfw kind of act like rage zombies and the movie has that great over the top gore and characters, its not really horror. Its gritty action like the movie that inspires it, Assault on Precinct 13. Genre encompasses multiple things like horror, exploitation, and any other type of movie that just has that feel to it. While today’s movie isn’t horror, though it does have situations that would be scary in real life, it is genre. It’s school-ploitation at its finest and has a pedigree both in front...

The 1990s were an exciting period for action films, with many of them getting released direct-to-video and showing up seemingly randomly at local video stores, requiring fans of the genre to have memberships at multiple locations to get to see everything. There was so much that if attention wasn’t paid, titles would be missed easily or rented twice under different titles at different video stores. Stars emerged within those ranks and gathered the love and adoration of fans. Here are the 10 of the best Dtv action stars of that era:

Dolph Lundgren

Let’s start with the obvious man on the list, the one that everyone saw films from at their local video stores. Lundgren had films that were released in theaters, on video, and direct to cable in some cases during the 1990s, but one thing is for sure, he was a mainstay of the action film aisle...

The 1990s had a plethora of action films, and movies in general, released direct-to-video. The film rental business was booming, and some video stores even hosted signing events with the stars to promote the films and their business. Direct to video action films were the most popular Dtv genre (next to soft-core erotica) and they were produced by the ton. Every week brought a new bunch of options to your local Blockbuster or Mom & Pop store. For the purpose of this list, the titles selected are fun watches even now, that were released direct-to-video for the majority of the population, and they were decently popular on the video store shelves. Without further ado, here are 5 of our favorites!

Lady Dragon (1992)

Let’s start with the Queen of 90s action in the US, the one, the only, the kickass Cynthia Rothrock. This woman is the real deal, with many martial arts...

Alex Winter (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) and Patton Oswalt (“Young Adult”) are set to appear in martial arts drama “Absolute Dominion” for Netflix.

“The Porter’s” Oluniké Adeliyi, “Better Call Saul’s” Julie Ann Emery and “Jerry Maguire’s” Reagan Gomez will also star in the project.

Helmed and written by stunt-woman turned director Lexi Alexander (“How to Get Away with Murder”), the high-octane sci-fi action film is co-produced by Blumhouse Television.

“It’s 2085 A.D. and the world has been destroyed by religious warfare,” reads the logline. “Desperate to save humanity, global governing forces host a gripping, no-holds-barred, martial arts tournament. Last fighter standing wins Absolute Dominion for one faith.”

Rounding out the cast are Alok Vaid-Menon, Andy Allo, Désiré Mia, Jennifer Jajeh, Juliana Joel, June Carryl, Junes Zahdi, Laith Ashley, Mario D’Leon, Nora Armani, Oluniké Adeliyi, and Shawn Mousavi.

Meanwhile martial arts expert Phil Tan has boarded...

Very rarely has the world of Yakuza been portrayed in such cinematic glory, as in the then 33-year-old Masahiro Shinoda’s break out film, which was based on an original story by Shintaro Ishihara, leading figure of the Sun Tribe generation and scenarist of “Crazed Fruit”. Surprisingly, at least when looked in retrospective, the film was not successful from the beginning, since the script writer of the film, Ataru Baba, did not like Shinoda’s approach at all, while the extensive gambling scenes “Pale Flower” featured caused trouble for Shochiku with the censorship board, forcing them to shelve the movie for a number of months. Now, however, and thanks to another excellent release by Criterion, we can enjoy one of Shinoda’s greatest works (if not the best).

“Pale Flower” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Muraki, a hardboiled yakuza, has just been released from prison after serving...

Hou Zuxin’s ‘The Italian Recipe’ to open the 24th edition of the Asian festival in Italy.

The Far East Film Festival (Feff), held in the Italian town of Udine, has unveiled the full line-up for its 24th edition, including 13 world premieres.

The festival, which has established itself as a European showcase for Asian cinema, is set to run from April 22-30 and will open with the world premiere of The Italian Recipe from China’s Zuxin Hou. The romantic comedy, starring Huang Yao and Liu Xan, is mostly set in Rome and marks just the second official co-production between Italy and China.

Tokyo Vice, which premiered on HBO Max on April 7, is a series adaptation of Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, the 2009 memoir by Jake Adelstein, played by Ansel Elgort in the series. He was the first non-Japanese reporter ever hired by Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the biggest and most respected newspapers in Japan.

Adelstein is the only American on the crime beat at the paper, and is given an outsider’s help. In the series, he is taken under the wing by Hiroto Katagiri, played by Ken Watanabe, a detective in the organized crime division. He is investigating his own group of outsiders. Adelstein ultimately fled Japan when an article for The Washington Post got him in trouble with the yakuza mob.

The yakuza are well known in Japan. They inspired fan magazines, manga, and have been the subject of quite a few gangster films.

Michael Mann’s first directorial effort since 2015’s “Blackhat” comes to HBO Max this Thursday, April 7th, with the highly anticipated debut of “Tokyo Vice,” the loose adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Jake Adelstein. At first, the series seems like a perfect fit for the director of “Miami Vice,” “Collateral,” and “Public Enemies.” It’s another stylish venture that centers on morally questionable men and the women who find themselves both drawn to them and betrayed by them.

Continue reading ‘Tokyo Vice’ Review: Michael Mann’s Yakuza Series Is Another Captivating & Stylish Venture About Morally Questionable Men at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Blade star Wesley Snipes and his Maandi House Studios have partnered with Gifted Rebels and Pcb Entertainment on a new graphic novel, titled The Exiled.

The comic will follow Detective Niles “Roach” Washington as he pursues a serial killer in the aftermath of a deadly gas attack. As the killer rips the spines from his victims, using tools over 5,000 years old, the world outcasts Roach for his theories. But his instincts keep pushing him forward. With enemies on all sides, and within, he wades into the darkness to find the killer and uncovers Earth’s darkest secret.

Gifted Rebels’ Adam Lawson is adapting the comic book script from a story he created with Snipes and Pcb Entertainment’s President Keith Arem, with Gabriel “Eskivo” Santos (Knightwraith) doing the art and Valentina Bianconi handling the colors. Among The Exiled‘s unique features are hidden codes, which...

Whenever Nintendo and Game Freak release a new Pokémon game, you usually expect high sales at best and decent sales at worst. However, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has blown past most expectations and seems poised to influence subsequent franchise entries. Of course, that raises an important question: If Pokemon Legends: Arceus truly represents the future of Pokemon, could it supplant the “traditional” mechanics from previous games going forward?

On February 3rd, Nintendo of America tweeted that Pokémon Legends: Arceus had sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide in its first week. According to CNET, this is a veritable record-shattering performance, as Pokémon Sword and Shield only pushed 6 million copies in their first week. Moreover, in Japan, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the second best-selling Nintendo Switch game ever (via Siliconera/Famitsu). Admittedly, the race to the top isn’t over yet, as the prior titles, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, have sold around 13.87 million copies.

If you’re looking for something to watch on HBO Max this month, you may want to prioritize the following titles that are leaving the streaming service throughout February. Below, we’ve assembled a complete list of everything leaving HBO Max in February, which ranges from Oscar-winning blockbusters to stone-cold classics to delightful comedies.

Noteworthy films leaving HBO Max this month include “Dunkirk,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Amistad,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Independence Day,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “The Goonies,” “Joker” and “The Lego Batman Movie.” It’s also last call for DC films “Wonder Woman,” “Aquaman,” “Birds of Prey” and “Suicide Squad.”

The end of February will also mark the departure of a number of documentary series that aired on CNN, including “The Bush Years,” “The Seventies,” “The Eighties,” ”The Nineties,” ”The Movies” and ”The Story of Late Night.”

Check out the full list of everything leaving HBO Max in February 2022 below.

Following its well-received world premiere at Fantasia Film Festival, Yakuza Princess is now on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD from Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing, and we caught up with lead actress Masumi to discuss training in martial arts, working with her husband (renowned martial artist Kenny Leu), and collaborating with Vicente Amorim for Yakuza Princess.

How did you first get involved with Yakuza Princess, and what about the character and the story made you interested in taking on this role?

I had just started going to an acting school that my husband (Kenny Leu) introduced me to. Three months into the school, I found out that Kenny’s manager (Andrew Ooi) was at a meeting with Yakuza Princess’ producer regarding another project, and happened to have spoken about the movie. Andrew happened to have my self-tape (was given by my agent Sara at Brs/Gage days prior) at the time,...

Two different sorts of princesses make their debut this weekend on streaming. Camila Cabello is a progressive Cinderella in Amazon Prime Video's new movie while a sword-wielding princess in Yakuza Princess is kicking butt and taking names for in a theatrical run and VOD rental. On Hulu, Selena Gomez joins comedic veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short for a true-crime /murder mystery series. Watch full reviews with my Hca "What to Stream" cohost Jana in the video below.  ...

Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content, the new L.A.-based company of the former Netflix VP, has boarded “Cromosoma 21,” an original crime mystery series created and directed by Chile’s Matías Venables Brito which adds major twists to a classic murder witness narrative.

Executive produced by Nico Martínez Bergen, Barmack and Venables, and shooting in Chile from Sept. 27, “Chromosoma 21” is set up at Film N’ Maker in Santiago de Chile.

Wild Sheep Content is co-producing “Cromosoma 21” and handling rights for international distribution.

“Cromosoma 21” will be one of the first Wild Sheep Content series to go into production.

The series has attracted high-profile Chilean actors such as Daniel Muñoz (“La Jauría”), Claudia di Girolamo and Mario Horton (“Spider”). Of other key cast, Sebastián Solorza plays Tomy, Pia Urrutia his girlfriend and Gastón Salgado his brother. Newcomer Valentina Muhr takes on the role of an a Pdi detective, Mariana, who’s assigned to the case.

Yakuza Princess goes for the jugular with visceral katana-slicing action, but unfortunately gets bogged down by sluggish pacing. Adapted from the graphic novel "Samurai Shiro" by Brazilian comic book artist Danilo Beyruth, the film has striking cinematography and intriguing characters. It takes a deep dive into Japanese organized crime, samurai culture, and sword fighting tactics. Issues arise when the mystery that drives the narrative drones on. The tension established continually deflates with melodramatic lulls. A brutal finale swerves Yakuza Princess back on track for a recommendation.

In 1999 Osaka, Japan, a family gathering turns into a bloody massacre. Twenty-one years later in São Paulo, Brazil's Japanese district, Akemi (Masumi) struggles with the random murder of her beloved grandfather. She follows his wishes and continues to practice Kendo with her nearly lifelong master (Toshiji Takeshima). Meanwhile, two seemingly separate events have major repercussions. Takeshi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), a fierce Yakuza lieutenant (kanbu), learns a long kept secret.

Hello, everyone! Hard to believe it, but September is nearly upon us, which means we have a brand new month of Digital and VOD premieres to look forward to as we gear up for this year’s Halloween season. For all you James Wan fans out there, the wait to see Malignant is almost over, as his latest horror film will arrive on HBO Max on September 10th, and for the fans who have been anxiously awaiting more horror from Mike Flanagan, Midnight Mass will be making its way to Netflix on September 24th. Arrow is set to debut Jumbo exclusively on their platform tomorrow, and Shudder has a trio of exclusive films headed to their service throughout September as well: Simon Barrett’s Seance, Martyrs Lane, and Superhost from Brandon Christensen.

Check out the full rundown of all the digital debuts happening over the next few weeks, as there...

The legal drinking age in most countries around the globe is 18 years old; Brazil is among those nations. Japan, however, makes their young people wait until they turn 20 for the right to booze it up. Yet, in nonsensical fashion, when Akemi (singer-songwriter Masumi), the Japanese-born, Brazilian-raised heroine of Vicente Amorim’s “Yakuza Princess,” toasts in front of her late grandfather’s portrait, she follows American regulation and celebrates finally turning 21 as a major milestone. Such a seemingly trivial detail is indicative of the astounding incoherence and misguided international ambitions of this subpar action saga.

Gruesome dismemberment at a family party opens the film, adapted from the graphic novel “Samurai Shiro” by Danilo Beyruth. That incident in Osaka two decades prior landed Akemi and her grandfather in Sao Paolo — text on screen explains the South American city hosts the largest Japanese community outside of the island state. But while having Brazilian creators at the helm,...

The summer movie season may be winding down, but HBO Max is keeping the movie ball rolling in September 2021. HBO Max’s list of new releases this month is heavy on the film side of things – both in library and original offerings.

Two Warner Bros. films of note arrive this month. The James Wan-directed horror tale Malignant premieres on Sept. 10 and is followed by Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho on Sept. 17. The next installment in Adventure Time: Distant Lands (which is kind of like a film series!) is titled Wizard City and opens the month on Sept. 2

Of course, it wouldn’t be a new month of HBO Max releases without some interesting evergreen Warner movie titles. Sept. 1 finds all eight Harry Potter movies returning to WarnerMedia’s streaming service. They will be accompanied by The Goonies, The Evil Dead, Cloverfield, and more. Later on in the month, Mortal Kombat (Sept.

A young woman discovers she’s a crime family heiress in “Yakuza Princess,” a grimy action-thriller set in the neon-drenched streets of São Paulo’s Japanese district. Adapted from Danilo Beyruth’s graphic novel by Brazilian filmmaker Vicente Amorim (“Motorrad), “Yakuza” delivers stylish shootouts and eye-catching swordplay but lacks the dynamic characters and story-telling panache required to lift it into the top grade. Starring Japanese American singer Masumi in her first feature role, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as an amnesiac assassin, this well produced item still packs enough punch to satisfy undemanding action fans and should perform respectably when released in U.S. theaters and on VOD on Sept. 3.

Considering São Paulo is home to the world’s largest ethnic Japanese community outside Japan (an estimated 1.6 million people), it’s surprising how rarely the city’s Nikkei Burajiru-jin (Japanese Brazilians) have been granted leading character status in feature films. “Gaijin:...

On September 1, all eight Harry Potter films return home to HBO Max.

September also brings Clint Eastwood’s latest film Cry Macho on the 17th and director James Wan’s Malignant on the 10th. Both Cry Macho and Malignant will be available in theaters and on HBO Max the same day. They will stream on the $14.99/month ad-Free HBO Max plan for 31 days after their debuts.

See all of the new content on HBO Max for September, 2021, below. The list is organized alphabetically by date.

September 1:

A Hijacking

The Animal

Army Of Darkness

The Benchwarmers

Bodas de Oro – aka The Anniversary

The Cell 2

Cloverfield

Dead Again

Deck the Halls

Detour

Drinking Buddies

Epic Movie

Event Horizon

The Evil Dead

Evil Dead 2

Flawless

The Forgotten

Fun Size

The Gallows

The Good German

The Good Heart

The Goonies

Green Lantern

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the...

Based on the graphic novel, Samurai Shirô, by Danilo Beyrouth, Yakuza Princess is like a bloody, violent, no holds barred episode of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? as the film follows a young woman on her journey to discover family truths. A film about loss, with themes of identity and belonging, and in a stylish, thrilling, and mysterious neo-noir package with strong elements from the jidaigeki genre and samurai history, Vicente Amorim’s Yakuza Princess treads in the footsteps of a dark legacy.

A home sits beneath the hills as a flag burns ahead. A family is met with bullets and steel, a dynasty of crime in Osaka is believed to be destroyed. But in present-day São Paulo, the family’s sole survivor embodies its fighting spirit as she trains in Kendo, a traditional Japanese martial art derived from the fighting methods of samurai. Akemi (singer-songwriter Masumi...

We enter 20 years into the past at a birthday party in Japan. This wealthy family spared no expense for the celebration but no amount of money can stop what’s coming. Swords are drawn, guns are fired, and soon enough everyone is dead—save a little girl taken from her mother’s lifeless arms. The assumption is that the victors have stolen her to nurture as their own before the inevitable discovery of her real heritage and subsequent desire for revenge. Learning the opposite to be true is thus a confusing hiccup once we fast-forward to present-day Brazil and find Akemi (Japanese singer-songwriter Masumi) mourning the death of the man who raised her: a man she calls Grandfather. How did she get there? We’ll find out soon enough.

Director Vicente Amorim and fellow screenwriters Tubaldini Shelling, Kimi Lee, and Fernando Toste have no qualms with Yakuza Princess—based on...

Born in Kobe, Japan, Oudai Kojima lived in New York City for 10 years before returning to Japan. After studying architecture at Tokyo University, he changed direction to filmmaking. He served as an assistant director to Tomokazu Yamada before going freelance and starting to direct full time. While directing numerous music videos, commercials and short films, he started work on his first feature film, Joint, in 2019. The film premiered at the 2021 Osaka Asian Film Festival and is scheduled for release in Japan in autumn 2021.

Kim Chang-bak is a S. Korean actor who was castein the film, but eventually also became part of the production, working as executive producer, in his first effort in the role.

On the occasion of “Joint” screening at New York Asian Film Festival, we speak with them about shooting a film about modern yakuza, crime, Korean immigrants, Shogen, Ikken Yamamoto and Kim Jin-cheol, the production in general,...

Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing have dropped the official trailer for the Brazilian action thriller film Yakuza Princess, starring Japanese American singer Masumi and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors). The action-packed trailer explores the dangerous world of the Japanese mafia. Rhys Meyers' character Shiro teams up with a strange woman who wields a highly coveted katana sword. The official synopsis for the film can be read below.

"Set in the expansive Japanese community of Sao Paulo in Brazil - the largest Japanese diaspora in the world - Yakuza Princess follows Akemi (Masumi), an orphan who discovers she is the heiress to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate. Forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Rhys Meyers) who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates, Akemi must unleash war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead."

The two-minute footage of the trailer introduces Akemi as a...

Nowadays, Sega is known for games like Total War and the Yakuza series. But many gamers will also remember that Sega used to be in the console market. In fact, at one point, Sega even began outselling Nintendo.

Related: The 10 Best-selling Game Consoles Of All Time

Some of the company's consoles were abject failures, others were hits, and some simply weren't understood or respected at the time, but have gone on to be highly regarded in retrospect. While gamers all have different views on Sega, what can't be denied is that the company was unique, innovative, and helped push gaming into a new era.

Featuring eight main games and multiple spinoffs, the Yakuza series is among Sega's most popular long-running franchises. The series has sold over 14 million units around the world and continues to skyrocket in popularity, in large part thanks to the 2020 release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. For newcomers, the sheer number of Yakuza games may be intimidating, as it's not obvious which order they should be played in.

Related: Every Grand Theft Auto Game Ranked By Their Stories

To make the most out of the crime series' melodramatic narratives and shocking twists without any spoilers, it's best to go with a chronological approach that follows the franchise's main storyline. Of course, players can stop and play any of the spinoffs, like Judgment and Dead Souls, in between the main games. However, newcomers may find it more immersive and less confusing to follow Kazuma Kiryu's story from start to finish...

The biggest thing that Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins gets right is the casting of Henry Golding as the titular, iconic masked ninja. Not only is it nice to see the character played by an Asian actor (Snake Eyes has up to this point only been portrayed as a white man), but the Malaysian-English Crazy Rich Asians star does a fine job at kicking the living shit out of countless baddies, as well as giving the up-til-now silent character a voice that fans can get behind. And director Robert Schwentke treats the material seriously while still remembering to have fun along the way.

The movie opens with Snake Eyes as a boy, long before he becomes the wordless warrior fans know and love. He and his dad are on vacation at their family cabin when a group of militarized mercenaries led by a scraggly super-goon captures his father and forces...

“Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins” is probably about as good a movie as you’re going to get that has the words “G.I. Joe” in the title. Maybe that’s because it seems to have very little to do with anyone’s conventional idea of G.I. Joe. It’s not a square-jawed, mildly jingoistic heavy-weapons combat orgy, like “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (2009) or “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” (2013), the previous two installments in the Hasbro-inspired action franchise. It is, rather, a darkly atmospheric, sleekly scissor-limbed ninja combat orgy — a tale of vengeance and nobility and scheming set in Tokyo, where the title character (Henry Golding), a moody drifter who saw his father killed by shadowy forces, joins the Arashikage clan, a 600-year-old ninja dynasty, but only because he’s on an undercover mission of sabotage.

The movie is also a synthetic but exuberantly skillful big-studio hodgepodge of ninja films,...

Translated by Lukasz Mankowski:

Born in 1977, Miwa Nishikawa is a director, screenwriter, producer. Studied literature at the Waseda University, started her film career as the assistant of Hirokazu Koreeda, who produced her debut, “Wild Berries.” The film received awards at the Yokohama Festival, Mainichi Film Concours and the Japanese Professional Movie Award. Her following, award-winning productions were also well-received. “Sway” (2006) was presented in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section, its script received the literary Yomiuri award and soon came out as a novel. Nishikawa also published a set of short stories “Kino no kamisama” and a novel “Nagai iwake.”

On the occasion of “Under the Open Sky screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with her about shooting her first novel adaptation, the world of Yakuza in the past and now, Koji Yakusho and Meiko Kaji, music and humour in the film, and other topics

All your previous movies were from your own original scripts,...

Michihito Fujii was born in Tokyo and graduated from the Nihon University College of Art Screenplay course. While studying at the university, he started to write scripts and began his activities as a director. His first feature-length movie was ”Oh! Father”, based on the same-named novel by Kotaro Isaka. His film, “The Journalist” received 6 Japan Academy Prize nominations and won three, including Picture of the Year, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

On the occasion of “A Family” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about shooting a movie about and researching the yakuza, his opinion about the rather harsh, current anti-yakuza law, the cycle of violence, his cooperation with Go Ayano and other topics.

Why did you decide to shoot a film about the yakuza? What is your opinion about its state through the years and now?...

Ernie Lively, an actor best known for playing the father of his daughter Blake Lively's character in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, has passed away. Lively, whose career as an actor spanned 50 years, reportedly died on Thursday of cardiac complications in Los Angeles while surrounded by his wife and all of his children. He was 74 years old.

In response to the news, actor and Ernie's friend Jim Beaver posted to Twitter: "My buddy, fellow actor, fellow Marine Vietnam vet Ernie Lively has died at 74. I hadn't seen much of him since he moved away from LA, but I treasure all my memories of working and hanging out with him. Welcome home, Marine."

My buddy, fellow actor, fellow Marine Vietnam vet Ernie Lively has died at 74. I hadn’t seen much of him since he moved away from LA, but I treasure all my memories of working and hanging out with him.

Ernie Lively, the actor who appeared in beloved movies “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “Turner & Hooch,” has died. He was 74.

A representative for Lively confirmed his death to Variety.

In the two “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movies, which came out in 2005 and 2008, Lively portrayed the father of Bridget, played by his real-life daughter, Blake Lively. The “Gossip Girl” star wasn’t the only one to be inspired by her father’s career. His other children — Jason, Eric, Robyn and Lori — built careers in film in television as well. Mentorship was a big part of Lively’s life. From the late ’80s through most of the ’90s, he coached Hollywood’s young working actors, such as Brittany Murphy, Casper Van Dien and Jason Priestley.

The Maryland native was born in Baltimore in January 1947 and earned his first acting credit at age 28 with an appearance on “The Waltons.

Longtime character actor Ernie Lively, whose acting career spanned five decades and included roles in such films as “Turner & Hooch,” “Passenger 57” and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” films, in which he played the father of his daughter Blake Lively’s character, has died, according to a representative for Lively. He was 74.

Lively died of cardiac complications in Los Angeles last Thursday. He was surrounded by his wife and all of his children.

Lively was also a successful pitchman as he starred alongside Phil McHale as part of the duo Runner & Ernie in the popular Hardee’s commercials that ran in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

Lively was born Ernest Brown Jr. in Baltimore on Jan. 29, 1947. Lively was an English professor who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War and turned to acting. On top of acting, Lively was an acting coach and mentor who guided...

Ernie Lively, whose 50-year acting career included turns in Passenger 57, The Dukes of Hazzard, Turner & Hooch and as the father of his daughter Blake Lively’s character in the two Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, has died. He was 74.

Lively died Thursday of cardiac complications in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was surrounded by his wife and all of his children.

Lively’s credits also included other notable films like Shocker (1989), Air America (1990), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), The Man in the Moon (1991), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) and Mulholland Falls (1996) and guest appearances on TV shows including The X-Files, Seinfeld, Murder, She Wrote and The ...

Ernie Lively, whose 50-year acting career included turns in Passenger 57, The Dukes of Hazzard, Turner & Hooch and as the father of his daughter Blake Lively’s character in the two Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, has died. He was 74.

Lively died Thursday of cardiac complications in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was surrounded by his wife and all of his children.

Lively’s credits also included other notable films like Shocker (1989), Air America (1990), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), The Man in the Moon (1991), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) and Mulholland Falls (1996) and guest appearances on TV shows including The X-Files, Seinfeld, Murder, She Wrote and The ...

When discussing a film movement, it’s always difficult to pin down the exact moment it began. With Heroic Bloodshed it’s often considered that “A Better Tomorrow” was the key movie but “The Story of Wu Viet” and “Coolie Killer” before it could be said to have demonstrated themes prior. Going back, we have “The Club” by Kirk Wong in 1981 but even two years before that we have “Cops and Robbers”. So a genre evolves organically rather than emerging fully formed. So it’s an interesting release on blu ray and provides a chance to catch a moment in time as a new style of action began to emerge in Hong Kong.

A team of cops headed by Inspector Chow (Kam Hing-Yin) and Sergeant Kei (Wong Chung) successfully foil a robbery on a security van despite Kei being wounded. A gang of bank robbers including the...

Banshee co-creator and Warrior creator Jonathan Tropper discusses Bruce Lee and some of his favorite action movies with podcast hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Devils (1971)

Star Wars (1977)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Gremlins (1984)

Innerspace (1987)

The Adam Project (Tbd)

A History of Violence (2005)

Rocky (1976)

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky III (1982)

Rocky IV (1985)

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Blue Thunder (1983)

Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

Missing In Action (1984)

Missing In Action 2: The Beginning (1985)

Enter The Ninja (1981)

Revenge Of The Ninja (1983)

Ninja 3: The Domination (1984)

American Ninja (1985)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

I Come In Peace a.k.a. Dark Angel (1990)

Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991)

Men of War (1994)

Enter The Dragon (1973)

Way of the Dragon a.k.a. Return of the Dragon (1972)

The Big Boss (1971)

Braveheart (1995)

First Blood (1982)

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Commando (1985)

The Terminator (1984)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Highlander (1986)

Bloodsport...

Nathan Jung, the actor who appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “The A-Team” and “Kung Fu,” has died. He was 74.

Jung died on April 24, his close friend and attorney, Timothy Tau, confirmed to Variety. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Jung kicked off his acting career in 1969 with his role as Ghengis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of “Star Trek: The Original Series.” From there, taking advantage of his tall stature, his television resume exploded with roles on the biggest shows from the 1970s and ’80s. Jung appeared on “M*A*S*H*,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “CHiPs,” “General Hospital,” “Manimal,” “Riptide” and “Hunter.” He also held roles in “Sanford and Son,” in which he played Helen Funai’s cousin, Saburyo, and “Kung Fu,” in which he plaed the Dark Rider. In the ’90s, he had stints on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Martial Law” and “Burke’s Law.

The reality of the yakuza in Japan has changed significantly during the last decades, with their lives having nothing to do with what Kinji Fukasaku portrayed in the 70s. A number of the latest productions focus on this change and the current lives of the members of the “underworld”, with movies like the recent “Under the Open Sky” being one of the most prominent examples. Oudai Kojima also implements this approach, focusing, though, on the criminal practices of the current yakuza, through a rather dark approach.

Joint is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

After having served 2 years in prison, former yakuza Takeshi Ishigami spent two miserable years working on a construction site, building up funds before he returned to Tokyo with the help of Yasu, his best friend. He is determined to go straight and in order to do that, he decides to invest in a big data startup company.