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"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" Korean Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Despite a lukewarm reception to the first film, the G.I. Joe franchise is back with a sequel that looks to inject some much needed fresh blood into the series. At the helm is director John M. Chu, joined by series newcomers Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis. In theaters on March 29th, 2013.

THE TRAILER: Courtesy of Apple Quicktime. Machinima has the newest trailer on Youtube.

Updates: CBM has a look at the Superbowl spot. | Check out the international trailer. | ComicBookMovie reports that popular Korean actor Lee Byung-hun (A Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil) will have a larger role in the sequel thanks to his improved mastery of the English language. This makes us at Cityonfire.com very happy.

Check out trailer #3, courtesy of YouTube. | A fresh batch of cool news pics, courtesy of Beyond Hollywood. | A cool new poster featuring Lee Byung-hun of I Saw the Devil fame as Storm Shadow. | Beyond Hollywood has some more great posters and images here. | Scope out three new posters for the film here.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been delayed until March 29, 2013 so Paramount can convert the film to 3D, which they feel will boost Retaliation‘s international box office. Today, AICN is speculating that the delay was due to a highly negative response from test audiences and a desire to increase Channing Tatum’s role after his increased popularity from 21 Jump Street and the upcoming Magic Mike.

In addition to Channing Tatum’s limited screen time (see above), Cinemablend reports that the studio has broken its silence and says that the movie couldn’t compete with Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man. And just like Ningen called out days ago (see comments), The Playlist reports that re-shoots will add more Tatum.

Check out the latest G.I. Joe: Retaliation international trailer. | Introducing the latest poster. | Watch the latest trailer! | “G.I. Joe should be gentlemen…” Two new TV spots for your viewing pleasure are here and here. | Check out a cool Stormshadow poster and a Stormshadow featurette over at ComingSoon. | There’s a 4-minute ninja fight from the movie on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

BREAKING NEWS: Rope of Silicon has 21 new photos and some new clips.

"Death Wish 3" Japanese Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Paramount and MGM are bringing back the Charles Bronson-led thrillers, about a New York City architect who becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. Back in 2006, Sylvester Stallone also expressed interest in a remake.

Update: In an interview with Collider, Joe Carnahan says he wants to set his version in L.A. On October 29, Carnahan tweeted (via Collider): “Thinking if ‘Death Wish’ isn’t next, I might knock out a 3 million dollar movie with my pal Jason Blum…stripped down, bare bones basics.” The movie he speaks of is an action movie called Stretch, which will star Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson.

Director Joe Carnahan has reportedly dropped out of the project because he did not agree with Paramount-MGM’s push to cast Bruce Willis in the lead role.

BREAKING NEWS: Variety reports that MGM and Paramount have entered into negotiations with Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) to take over the project.

"Fist of Legend" Korean Theatrical Poster

Mixed-Martial Arts may be relatively new to the world of professional sports, but it’s already proved to be a fertile inspiration for filmmakers: from the Rocky-like underdog story of The Warrior with Tom Hardy to Michael Jai White’s fan favorite directorial debut Never Back Down 2. Now the South Korean film industry is getting in on the action with a new feature from Kang Woo-suk, the director of the popular Public Enemy films.

The movie is called Fist of Legend, a title that is burdened with a little bit of history seeing as how 1994′s Fist of Legend is arguably Jet Li’s most popular film. But we’re assured that the title is merely coincidence. Regardless, don’t miss the teaser trailer for this Korean Fist of Legend, which promises plenty of fights in the ring as well as City of Violence-esque street gang clashes. Fist of Legend arrives in Korean theaters on April 10th, 2013.  Thanks to Twitch for the story.

Update: Here’s the latest theatrical poster, courtesy of Beyond Hollywood. | Check out the latest poster and a new trailer for the film. Thanks to Beyond Hollywood.

BREAKING NEWS: CJ Entertainment delivers a knockout punch! The company has announced a limited theatrical release for Fist of Legend in North America. The film opens in select cities on April 12th, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Seattle. Here’s the North American trailer.

"The New World" Korean Theatrical Poster

Twitch has the scoop on a new cops-and-crooks thriller out of South Korea, titled New World. The story follows a cop who’s way, way undercover in a criminal organization when he’s caught between the gangsters’ power struggle and a police crackdown. New World features some of the biggest names in Korean cinema, actors whose faces should be recognizable to Western audiences as well: Lee Jung-Jae (The Housemaid) stars as the undercover cop, while Hwang Jung-min (The Unjust) is a gangster and none other than Choi Min-sik (star of Oldboy) plays a police superior.

The teaser trailer for New World is online now. You can find it and more in-depth informaiton on the project over at AsianWiki’s page. The movie is slated for release in South Korea at the end of next month, so expect a longer trailer in the coming weeks.

Updates: Beyond Hollywood has the official theatrical poster. Han Cinema has the full-length trailer.

Well Go USA is bringing the film to 15 theatrical markets in North America on March 22nd, 2013. City listings are on IndieWire and include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and more. | Here’s the full-length US trailer for the film, in select theaters this March 22nd.

BREAKING NEWS: The film opens in limited release tomorrow so Well Go USA has premiered a Red Band clip to entice viewers.

"Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" Unrated Director's Cut

Last year, director John Hyams made waves with Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, the latest installment in the popular Universal Soldier series. Unforgivingly bloody and brutal, and loaded with adult content, Day of Reckoning pushed the “R” rating to its limit while helping to cement Scott Adkins’ popularity as an action star.

Now – in case the original just wasn’t bloody enough for ya – Hyams’ official, unrated Director’s Cut is available streaming on Amazon. This means the goriest moments that had to be cut to secure an “R” are back in the film!

Via Facebook, Hyams revealed he hopes the Director’s Cut will receive an official Blu-ray release but it’s unknown if it will at this point. In the meantime, Amazon is your best bet to catch Day of Reckoning uncensored.

With series mainstays Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren returning to share the spotlight with Scott Adkins, the film proves that the Universal Soldier series still has plenty of fight left in it.

"No One Lives" International Poster

THE MOVIE: Director Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, The Midnight Meat Train) is back with an upcoming horror film titled No One Lives. This exuberantly gory thriller about a clan of backwoods road bandits whose latest victims are far less helpless than they seem.

No One Lives stars Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans); other cast members include Angus MadFadyen, Alexis Dziena, Laura Ramsey, Lindsey Shaw, America Olivo, Beau Knapp, Derek Magyar and Brodus Clay.

Update: In lieu of the film’s screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, the TIFF website has a few new stills from the film.

BREAKING NEWS: The International trailer managed to sneak its way online today.

"Welcome to the Punch" Theatrical Poster

Wanted star James McAvoy his back with a new action-packed thriller in which he’s called on to dive over countertops, dodge bullets in slow motion, and other such heroic stuff. Welcome to the Punch is a slick-looking movie and it should be, as it’s executive produced by none other than Ridley Scott. McAvoy headlines a topnotch cast that also includes Mark Strong (Kick-Ass), David Morrissey (TV’s The Walking Dead), and Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go).

In the film, McAvoy plays a determined cop who’s driven to the edge in his quest to catch a career criminal (Strong). When Strong returns to London to retrieve his injured son, McAvoy finally gets the chance to take him down…until he realizes things are not as they seem. The first trailer for Welcome to the Punch is online now, and promises icy blue visuals and plenty of Bourne-style action.

Update: The film already opened in the UK to mixed reviews but still has to make its way to North American markets at the end of this month (March). So here’s the latest trailer via YouTube.

"Trance" Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: In Danny Boyle’s (28 Days Later) Trance, a fine art auctioneer gets mixed up with a gang and joins forces with a hypnotherapist to recover a lost painting. As boundaries between desire, reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur the stakes rise faster than anyone could have anticipated. Trance stars James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel.

Updates: Dark Horizons notes that X:Men First Class’s Michael Fassbender is in talks to play the head of a gang of crooks trying to get information out of an inside-man behind the heist. | Via Rotten Tomatoes, Movieline indicates that Boyle is seeking First Class’s James McAvoy to take Fassbender’s place. | Via Rotten Tomatoes, Moviefone indicates that Colin Firth, Zoe Saldana, Scarlett Johansson, and Babylon A.D.’s Melanie Thierry are among the possible contenders for Trance.

According to Collider, Trance has a March 27, 2013 U.K. release date. | Empire has a few new photos. | First trailer is now available. | The teaser poster has been released. |  Check out the new banner poster. | Take a look at the new poster. | Trance has U.S. release date for April 5th. | Head over to Deadline for the Red Band trailer. | Enjoy a new 2 minute clip at The Playlist.

BREAKING NEWS: Watch the latest trailer for Trance.

"Angels" International Theatrical Poster

Thai film director Wych Kaosayananda (Fah), mostly known for his 2002 American film debut Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, is back with a new action-thriller called Angels, starring Sahajak Boonthanakit (Streetfighter: Legend of Chun Li), Dustin Nguyen (The Rebel), Gary Daniels (City Hunter) and Ammy Chanicha (The Hangover 2).

Angels, an English-language/Thai production, follows two friends: one a cop in Thailand, the other special forces, who hunt down the murderer of the police officer’s beautiful daughter.

Angels is currently playing in Vietnamese cinemas, but will most likely be picked up for international distribution, due to its international star power. Until then, check out the trailer.

"Ninja Masters" DVD Cover

Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings the kick-ass martial arts film Ninja Masters (aka Coweb) to DVD, Digital Download and Video on Demand June 11. Ninja Masters features Kane Kosugi (Ninja 2), Luxia Jiang (King of Triads), Sam Lee (Beast Cops) and Eddie Cheung (Kings of Triads).

Ninja Masters follows the story of a newly recruited bodyguard who fights her way to find the kidnapped couple she protects. The Ninja Masters DVD includes a “making of” featurette and will be available for the suggested retail price of $26.98.

A martial arts instructor is recruited as a bodyguard for an extremely powerful couple. On her first day of duty, her employers are kidnapped. As she searches for the couple, cryptic messages from the kidnappers lead her into a deadly world of underground fighting.

As the culprits put her in the ring, her martial arts skills are tested, and she gets steps closer to freeing her clients. The next opponent that enters her ring will have her facing the ultimate challenge with hopes of getting out alive! Click here to Pre-order the DVD.

Cityonfire.com received the above press release from Lionsgate.

"Blind Detective" Promotional Artwork

Shooting starts this October for Johnnie To’s Blind Detective. The film will circle around a blind man who is aided by a female detective in order to solve a bank robbery. Blind Detective reunites box office darlings Andy Lau (Dragon Family) and Sammi Cheng (Infernal Affairs), who previously starred together in films like Needing You… and Yesterday Once More.

The film has a budget of around $11 million and is slated to be released sometime in 2013. Media Asia Group is currently looking to sell international rights to the film.

Updates:

Andy Lau recently spoke about the difficulty of playing a blind character. “This is one of the most challenging roles of my career because the character is blind but the director isn’t allowing me to wear shades,” explained Lau. “The director says ‘cut’ when he thinks my eyes are moving. So we’ve only managed to complete one third of the movie after 3 months of shooting.”

Website Chinese Films has new pictures of Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng taken during filming – in their pajamas!

BREAKING NEWS: The teaser trailer is here and it’s everything you’d want to see from a Milkyway Image production – dark, violent, and incredibly stylish. Thanks to Twitch for the story.

"Resident Evil: Retribution 3D" Teaser Poster

Some movie franchises continue to generate large amounts of cash for their prospective studios, no matter how many fans and critics complain about it online. Case in point: Resident Evil: Retribution, the latest entry in Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil movie saga, grossed a solid $221 million worldwide. While the RE films have received poor reviews and diminishing box office returns in the States, they continue to do bank overseas.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Resident Evil 6 has been given a September 12th, 2014 release date. It’s speculated that Paul W.S. Anderson may not return to the director’s chair since he’s preparing to film the big-budget disaster flick Pompeii. However, the last word from Anderson’s mouth was that he had several ideas in mind for a sixth entry in the RE series and that this might just be the movie to close out the entire franchise.

Update: Reportedly, Chinese actress Li Bingbing will reprise her role as the popular game character Ada Wong. And this time around, her character will be granted more screentime to appease gamers.