For three days beginning September 5th, ABC Family will air SAMURAI GIRL, a miniseries based on a popular young adult book series by Carrie Asai. It stars Jamie Chung (MTV REAL WORLD) as Heaven, a 19-year-old girl who discovers that her adoptive father is a yakuza boss and may have killed her brother. She leaves to train in the ways of the samurai and plot to bring down her father’s criminal empire with the help of American friends. (more…)

Gackt’s official site has a promotional shot from BUNRAKU, featuring the Japanese rock star with his co-star Josh Hartnett. The site also confirms that Demi Moore is starring. Gackt had apparently been hand-picked by director Guy Moshe following his role as Kenshin Uesugi, a samurai warlord in the Taiga drama FURIN KAZAN (2007). BUNRAKU is an artsy martial arts actioner using unusual production design based on 19th-century Japanese puppetry. It’s currently shooting in Romania. (more…)

The spirit of Bushido and great martial arts masters the world over is alive and well in David Mamet’s gripping and poignant martial arts masterpiece that cuts to the core of what martial arts is all about. British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a powerful physical and emotional performance as a noble Jiu-Jitsu master forced to contend with an imperfect world. With thrilling, authentic grappling moves set in a real-world context, superb acting from a highly talented cast and a sophisticated, emotionally-charged script, REDBELT is in class all its own. (more…)

The first anime series to break into American television gets the glossy, live-action treatment from MATRIX trilogy mavens Andy and Larry Wachowski. The film attempts to capture the kinetic feel that made the original series such a hit. It’s a total sensory overload of garish primary colors, seizure-inducing editing and hyper-stylized action that may leave some begging for the relative calm of the action-packed MATRIX films. (more…)

I don’t know what to make of this but it definitely sounds interesting. BUNRAKU, an unusual film that Variety describes as a “martial arts fantasy actioner” will blend elements of Japanese puppetry, CGI and live-action to create a fight-filled artsy flick that star Josh Hartnett previously struggled to describe when speaking to MTV. (more…)

Shochiku Company is stirring things up with their upcoming release of ICHI, an update to the Zatoichi franchise that re-imagines the iconic blind swordsman of over 26 feature films as a woman. The film has completed production and is headed for a fall 2008 release. For now, we get a teaser trailer and pic featuring newcomer Haruka Ayase. (more…)

An official teaser poster has been released for director Rob Cohen’s THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, the third entry in the effects-heavy MUMMY series starring Brendan Fraser. We’re more interested in his co-stars Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh and Isabella Leong. We’ve got pictures of them too. (more…)

David Mamet, the playwright, novelist, filmmaker, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter with credits that include THE UNTOUCHABLES, RONIN and WAG THE DOG has turned his attention to martial arts for his latest film, REDBELT, which opens in theaters this week. (more…)

Chinese media has reported that the Huayi Brothers, the Chinese co-producers of THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM intend to collaborate once again with Hollywood studios to shoot a sequel with all the principle Chinese characters returning (there is no mention of the Caucasian kid). (more…)

With Tony Leung and Donnie Yen both portraying famous Wing Chun master Yip Man in upcoming biopics and the recent U.S. DVD release of Universe’s highly successful 2007 WING CHUN TV series starring Yuen Biao and Nicholas Tse, the fighting art that gave Bruce Lee his foundation is enjoying a resurgence of popularity. (more…)

Since we have another light week of screen fighting releases I’m going to focus on the latest high-definition news and tips and follow with a rundown on download services and a few Asian DVD releases. (more…)

As I continue to look back at the historical development of kung fu movies in Hong Kong and China, the period from about 1967 until 1973 stands revealed as a time when the old traditions collided with a newer, more modern approach to action filmmaking, resulting in an explosive burst of talent and creativity. (more…)