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"The Conjuring" Theatrical Poster

Saw director James Wan scored a sleeper hit with his 2010 horror film Insidious. The movie starred Patrick Wilson as a concerned father who hires a paranormal investigator to try and help rescue his child from a demonic presence. The film owed more than a little to Steven Spielberg/Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist, but performed surprisingly well at the box office.

Now James Wan is teaming back up with Patrick Wilson for another tale of the supernatural. The Conjuring was slated for an unexceptional January release, but advanced preview screenings have been so overwhelmingly positive that the studio has moved the movie to the middle of the crowded summer season with a July 19th, 2013 date. Of course, The Conjuring is ‘based on a terrifying true story.” You can check out the extended (and spooky) trailer at Apple Quicktime.

Update: A new full-length trailer is here for your viewing pleasure.

"Tai Chi Hero" American Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: After the box office success of Stephen Fung’s steampunk martial arts film Tai Chi 0 - with about US$23 million garnered in China alone – it was perhaps inevitable that we would see a sequel. Good thing, then, that a sequel is already in the can and on its way to Chinese theaters this October 25th.

Tai Chi Hero will pick up where the first movie left off, only this time it’s in IMAX/3D as well.

Updates: Check out the latest news from a press conference for the film in Beijing. And hop on over to YouTube for the first trailer for Tai Chi Hero, which looks loaded with impressive special effects. Here in America, we’re still anxiously awaiting Well Go USA’s October 19th theatrical release of Tai Chi 0. | The final posters for Tai Chi Hero are here!

BREAKING NEWS: Check out the Well Go USA’s poster, as well as the HD trailer at Apple. Also, don’t forget the Blu-ray & DVD is up for pre-order.

"X-Men: First Class" Japanese Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: X-Men: First Class was a surprise hit. Not surprisingly, 20th Century Fox has been quick to greenlit a sequel. Producer Bryan Singer is back but this time Singer is transitioning to the director’s chair. This will be the first X-Men film he’s directed since 2003′s fan favorite x2: X-Men United. It’s presumed that James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender will return as Professor X and Magneto, respectively. In theaters July 18th, 2013.

Updates: CBM notes that X-Men: Last Stand writer Simon Kinberg is working on the script.| Some quotes from writer/producer Simon Kinberg confirm that the sequel will place more of a focus on Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and his transition to the dark side as it were. | The film will start shooting in January 2013. | AICN reports that Fox has registered the title Days of Future Past with the MPAA.

Comic book fans most likely know that Days of Future Past was an extremely popular X-Men storyline set in a dark alternate future where Mutants were hunted down by giant robots called Sentinels. AICN speculates that X-Men: Second Class may be dealing with alternate timelines such as this, and that these elements could even pave the way for a X-Men 4 that would completely reboot the franchise.

Joblo reports producer Bryan Singer is officially sliding into the director’s chair now to replace Matthew Vaughn. | Singer has confirmed that Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan will be reprising their roles as Professor X and Magneto, respectively. This is in addition to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender playing the younger versions of said characters – which is possible since Days of Future Past deals with time travel and alternate dimensions.

Singer just tweeted that Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) will return for Days of Future Past. Singer also says he had a two hour conversation with James Cameron to help wrap his head around this film’s time travel plot. Singer also revealed the film at least opens in the the year 1973. Fan speculation suggests that the kids from First Class will then travel to a a dark alternate future where the characters from Singer’s first two X-Men films are being hunted down by Sentinels.

Bryan Singer will shoot this X-Men movie in 3D. Hey, at least it means there won’t be a crummy post-convert after the fact. Also, actor Peter Dinklage (TV’s Game of Thrones) is onboard for an unspecified role. | AICN has some casting news. Red-hot Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (Flash Point), who will also be seen in this summer’s Iron Man 3, has signed on to play the popular teleporting mutant Blink. In addition, fans can look forward to Daniel Cudmore reprising his role of Colossus.

BREAKING NEWS: Bryan Singer reveals possible new Beast concept art.

"Raze" Teaser Poster

Cinipix is proud to announce that Josh C. Waller’s new, gritty horror/action film Raze will make its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, on April 21st. The film stars Zoe Bell (Death Proof, Kill Bill), Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and Tracie Thoms (Death Proof).

The story follows two abducted women and 50 other women who are forced to fight each other using their bare hands. After Sabrina (Bell) is abducted, she finds herself in an underground lair, forced to do battle with other innocent women for the amusement of unseen spectators. Check out the intriguing teaser trailer.

“We have a truly original thriller with some amazing female star power, and we feel it will elevate the next chapter in genre filmmaking. This is a unique horror story that moviegoers will thoroughly enjoy watching in theaters while gripping onto their seats” said Cinipix CEO Todd Slater.

For more information, visit the film’s official website. Cityonfire.com received the above press release from Rogers & Cowan.

Update: Watch new Red Band trailer on youtube.

"Carrie" Teaser Poster

THE MOVIE: Director Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) is doing another take on the “crazy chick with psychic powers” story from Stephen King. Screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa hopes to do an adaptation which is more faithful to the source material. Boxofficemojo.com has a listed release date for October 18th

Updates: Via Rotten Tomatoes, Cinemablend indicates that True Grit’s Hailee Steinfeld could be up for the part of Carrie. Apparently, the Boys Don’t Cry director is now attached to the pic. Sacasa is just writing the script.

AICN reports that Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass, Dark Shadows) is the new face of Carrie. According to Deadline, Julianne Moore is playing Carrie’s mom. Total Film has the first official image of a very bloody Chloë Grace Moretz.

The link also has a shot of Julianne Moore as her mother. EW has a photo of Chloë Grace Moretz before the blood spill. AICN also suggests this Carrie is more of an adaptation of Stephen King’s book and less of a remake of Brian De Palma’s film. Like in the book, Carrie’s psychic reign of terror here won’t end at prom but continue into the surrounding town. Check out the new teaser poster. | The teaser trailer is now online for your viewing pleasure.

BREAKING NEWS: The trailer is now online. Pig’s blood included!

"World War Z" Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Brad Pitt stars as a U.N. worker during the zombie apocalypse in a big-budget retelling of Max Brooks’s novel. Also starring David Morse and Matthew Fox. From director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace). In theaters June 2013.

Updates: Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston is in talks to play what appears to be a scene-stealing bit part. | Screenrant suggests that the movie might not be faithful to the source material. | AICN has more clips of set footage. | Set footage of a zombie attack can be seen here.

CBM notes that Blade 2′s Marco Beltrami is involved with the score. | Dark Horizons via the L.A. Times notes that Paramount hopes to turn the film into a trilogy.

As reported by most media outlets yesterday, World War Z is in big trouble. Supposedly the third act of the film has a lot of problems and the studio has gone so far as to draft Damon Lindelof (TV’s Lost, co-writer on Prometheus) to work on the script in lie of impending reshoots. No word as to whether or not director Marc Foster will be behind the camera for said reshoots.

The troubles continue for World War Z, with a London-bound, 7-week long reshoot in sight. Brad Pitt’s time can’t be cheap, but supposedly director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) delivered only 52 minutes of usable footage on a $125 million budget – hence the lengthy reshoot and Damon Lindelof (Prometheus) being brought in to rewrite the third act.

Here’s the poster and a photo, courtesy of ET. | The trailer is online now, courtesy of Apple Quicktime. | Apple Quicktime has the brief Super Bowl TV Spot. | Check out the new poster. Also, Apple Quicktime has the new trailer!

BREAKING NEWS: Check out the newest poster, featuring Brad Pitt.

"The Purge" Theatrical Poster

In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity—including murder—becomes legal. The police can’t be called. Hospitals suspend help. It’s one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking.

Is it just us, or does this film sound like Battle Royale meets the Home Invasion subgenre? The Purge reunites Ethan Hawke with director James DeMonaco (Staten Island). Also starring is Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Edwin Hodge and Rhys Wakefield. The film hits theaters on May 31, 2013. Head over to Apple for the trailer.

Tormented (aka Rabbit Horror) 3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray 3D & DVD (Well Go USA)

April is ushered in with a light week of releases but there are still some noteworthy highlights among them, including Takashi Shimizu’s “Tormented” and Magnet Releasing’s “John Dies at the End.”

If you’re interested in any of these titles, you can support the site by ordering through our affiliate. We appreciate it!

Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 4/2/13:

ASIAN CINEMA

Tormented (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2011 Japanese horror film is the latest from Takashi Shimizu, the visionary filmmaker behind “The Grudge” series

The Kick (DVD) – in this 2011 martial arts film from the director of “Ong-Bak,” a family of Korean Taekwondo experts moves to Thailand and encounters all kinds of mob-related trouble

MARTIAL ARTS/ACTION

Badass Showdown (DVD) – martial arts icon Cynthia Rothrock (“Yes, Madam”) stars as a MMA trainer trying to make it in a male-dominated field in this 2013 feature

MAINSTREAM

The Baytown Outlaws (Blu-ray/DVD) – Billy Bob Thorton and Eva Longoria headline this 2012 Southern-fried crime flick

The Sweeney (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 British film, starring Ray Winston, follows a group of tough cops who specifically track armed robberies

Bounty Hunters (Blu-ray/DVD) – the WWF’s Trish Stratus stars in this 2012 low-budget action movie

The Bible: The Epic Mini-Series (Blu-ray/DVD) – the History Channel’s popular 2013 TV mini-series comes to home formats

NEW TO BLU-RAY

That Thing You Do! (Blu-ray) – Tom Hanks stars in this popular 1996 comedy about making it big in the world of 60′s pop music

CULT

The Name of the Game is Kill (DVD) – Jack Lord of “Hawaii Five-O” fame stars in this shocking 1968 cult thriller

Wrestling Superstars Triple Feature (DVD) – Roddy Pipper is just one of the many wrestlers starring in this triple feature DVD that includes “Hell Comes to Frogtown”; “Grunt: The Wrestling Movie”; and “I Like to Hurt People”

CLASSICS

A Night to Remember (DVD-R) – Amazon offers this 1942 thriller, in which a mystery writer and his wife encounter a dead body in their courtyard, on made-to-order DVD-R

The Key (DVD-R) – two cinema icons, William Holden and Sophia Loren, star in this 1959 romance, also available on DVD-R

HORROR

John Dies at the End (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 mind-bending and meta horror/thriller is the latest from Don Coscarelli, the creator of the “Phantasm” series

Hammer Horror Collection (DVD) – this DVD set contains three 70′s Hammer horror films: “Dracula: Prince of Darkness”; “The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires”; and “Frankenstein Created Woman.” “Golden Vampires” is notable for being a collaboration between Hammer Horror studios and the Shaw Brothers

Interested in any of these movies? If so, we hope that you’ll consider ordering from our affiliate to help support this site. Thank you!

"Pain & Gain" Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Directed by Michael Bay (Transfomers), Pain & Gain is about a pair of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson and Ken Jeong.

According to Wikipedia, Pain & Gain is based on a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles by investigative journalist Pete Collins about “a couple of Florida steroid-abusing knucklehead bodybuilders who become criminals involved in an extortion ring and a kidnapping plot that goes horribly awry.”

Updates: Check out the teaser poster. Pain & Gain will be in theaters on April 26, 2013. Introducing the latest poster. | Check out the first trailer. | Watch the new Red Band trailer.

BREAKING NEWS: Check out the newest poster.

"Cho Lon" AKA "Chinatown" Fan Poster

Last night, Twitch Film reported the word that actor/martial artist Johnny Tri Nguyen will be teaming back up with his brother, director Charlie Nguyen, for a new Vietnamese martial arts film, titled Redemption. The duo previously worked on breakout hit The Rebel, which offered jaw-dropping fight choreography and a bad ass turn for former 21 Jump Street star Dustin Nguyen, and instantly made martial arts fans take notice of what was coming out of Vietnam’s film industry.

Johnny Nguyen soon after starred in Clash, an equally action-packed tour de force, but the promise of Johnny reuniting with the original The Rebel team could result in something even more special. Twitch reports that the film is currently in pre-production with plans to shoot in the summer, while the story is set in modern times with a gangster/heist theme.

Updates: Things in the movie business never quite work out as planned, do they? Via Twitch: Johnny Nguyen has wrapped up his day job as a stuntman on Iron Man 3. He’s heading back to Vietnam for his latest collaboration with brother Charlie Nguyen, a gangster epic called Chinatown that will feature loads of bone-crunching martial arts. But what about Redemption? Well, Johnny is still involved but the project has been put on the backburner and handed off to Clash director Le Thanh Son.

Chinatown is now called Cho Lon - at least in Vietnam – and Johnny Tri Nguyen and company are more than halfway through shooting. Twitch Film has the first official images from the film, which promise large-scale street gang warfare.

Don’t miss the action-packed first trailer for Cho Lon. The sequences of widespread gang warfare look intense! Here’s the word from our friend in the Vietnamese film industry, Lee Mason: “Plot details are scarce at the moment, but it revolves around a gang war in Saigon’s Chinatown during a 24 hour period. It’s scheduled for release in Vietnam April 19th. International distribution is to be confirmed.” | Check out this extremely well done fan poster. And don’t forget: there’s the official poster for the film as well as the trailer with English subtitles. | Check out some new behind the scenes clips: Part 1 and Part 2 (sorry, no subtitles).

BREAKING NEWS: It was announced today that Cho Lon has not been able to pass Vietnamese censorship and the release date is now on indefinite hold. Thanks to Twitch for the heads up.

"Inferno 3" Chinese Teaser Poster

If you thought the South Korean movie The Tower 3D was the only 3D disaster movie about an out-of-control fire headed to the multiplexes, think again. Chinese Films reports that Hong Kong leading men Louis Koo and Lau Ching Wan, previously seen together in the Overheard series, have signed on to appear in Inferno.

In the film, the duo will play firefighters who happen to be half-brothers as they presumably battle to put out a raging fire. Inferno has a solid US$ 20 million budget behind it and the cameras have already started rolling in Bangkok.

The Pang Brothers (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous) will direct the film; the filmmakers are no strangers to the 3D format as their 2011 horror film The Child’s Eye was Hong Kong’s first 3D movie.

Additionally, actor Lau Ching Wan portrayed a firefighter back in 97′s Lifeline, a Johnnie To film that was billed as HK’s answer to Backdraft. The shoot on Inferno is expected to take about 5 months, with the film poised for a Summer 2013 release slot. Stay tuned to Cityonfire.com for further updates.

Update: The teaser trailer is here and it’s actually quite impressive. It looks like the Pang Brothers are whipping up a potent blend of solid acting talent, state of the art special effects, and good old-fashioned setpiece moments. The film opens in China later in 2013.

"2 Guns" Teaser Poster

THE MOVIE: Baltasar Kormákur’s (Contraband) 2 Guns is about a DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob — the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from. The film is based on the comic book of the same name by Steven Grant.

2 Guns stars Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, James Marsden, Fred Ward, Bill Paxton and Edward James Olmos.

Updates: Check out the first photo, which appeared in the latest issue of EW. 2 Guns will be in theaters on August 16th 2013.

BREAKING NEWS: Watch the first trailer and check out the new poster!