By Mark Pollard | Published January 7, 2010

Behold, a new preview feature and expanded coverage have arrived on Kung Fu Cinema. Beginning in our ninth year of operation, KFC will begin publishing a monthly preview of new action film releases coming to theaters and home video in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, we will begin covering the entire action genre, not just martial arts and Asian action films. This Action Movie Preview started out as a complete 2010 overview but there were simply too many movies to fit in one article. This year is going to be huge for action cinema with literally hundreds of feature films to track. As a result, this preview feature will be divided up by month. To get things started, here is the first installment in our Action Movie Preview with over 30 new and upcoming releases coming out in January.

FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING (January 5 – Trailer)

Based on a true story of how informer Martin McGartland worked his way up through the ranks of the IRA in the late 1980s while feeding vital information to a British handler, information believed to be responsible for saving the lives of 50 men. Kari Skogland directs this riveting action thriller starring Jim Sturgess and Ben Kingsley.

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press, Rose McGowan
Director: Kari Skogland
Stunt Choreographer: Sy Hollands
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD

LONG ARM OF THE LAW (January 5 – Trailer)

Classic, gritty Hong Kong crime actioner from Johnny Mak and Sammo Hung concerns a gang of mainland robbers who plan the perfect heist, the robbery of a jewelry store in Hong Kong. But right from the start, their plans begin to unravel as they suffer their first casualty at the border. From there the job grows increasingly deadly as the remaining gang members face double crosses and shootouts with police culminating in a last stand as they desperately try to find a way out of their situation.

Starring: Chen Jing, Huang Jian, Jiang Lung, Ben Lam, Lam Wai
Director: Johnny Mak
Action Director: Billy Chan
Distributor: Joy Sales
Availability: DVD (HK)

LONG ARM OF THE LAW II (January 5 – Trailer)

Mak returns with a sequel to LONG ARM OF THE LAW. This time, three Hong Kong police detectives go undercover to infiltrate a crime ring among the immigrant population from mainland China. The trio’s violent methods cause their superior anxiety and members of the crime ring to begin hunting them down. As pressure from all sides mounts, the detectives finally get what they’re looking for; the ring accidentally approaches them for a bank job which tips off the police and leads to a violent confrontation.

Starring: Stephen Chan, Hong Yee-san, Ben Lam, Elvis Tsui
Director: Johnny Mak
Action Director: Billy Chan
Distributor: Joy Sales
Availability: DVD (HK)

BLACK RANSOM (January 7 – Trailer)

Writer, producer and general schlockmeister Wong Jing oversees this action thriller by first-time director and veteran cinematographer Keung Kwok-man. Simon Yam, an actor who is seemingly omnipresent, stars as a worn out police detective who is called on when a former colleague (Michael Miu) re-emerges as the head of a crime syndicate specializing in the kidnap and murder of wealthy triad bosses. The trailer looks decent right up to the point where we see a ridiculous, slo-mo tracking shot of a CGI bullet. Despite efforts to sell it as a respectable thriller, this definitely has Wong’s stamp on it, which means it should be disposable yet potentially entertaining in a low-brow sort of way.

Starring: Simon Yam, Michael Miu, Fala Chen
Director: Keung Kwok-man
Availability: Theatrical (HK)

NO MERCY (January 7 – Trailer)

Korean thriller about a top forensic investigator named Kang Min-ho (Seol Kyeong-gu) who is brought in on a particularly vicious case involving the chopped up body of a woman. With the aid of a detective (Han Hye-jin), Min-ho is able to help finger a suspect which leads to the arrest of an environmental activist named Lee Sung-ho (Ryoo Seung-beom). However, this case is far from closed when Lee kidnaps Kang’s daughter and orders him to prove his innocence. This leads Kang to the realization that he is connected to Lee through a previous criminal case and that Lee has a hidden agenda that goes beyond clearing his name.

Starring: Seol Kyeong-gu, Ryoo Seung-beom, Han Hye-jin
Director: Kim Hyeong-joon
Distributor: Cinema Service
Availability: Theatrical (South Korea)

SE-SING CONFIRM (January 7 – Trailer)

An oddball foursome team up to take down a child kidnapping ring in order to save kidnapped friends in this action comedy. The trailer reveals heavy amounts of wild martial arts, gunplay and stunt work that definitely bears the distinctive mark of Thailand’s current crop of skilled daredevil stunt professionals.

Starring: Boriboon Chanruang, Richard Ghiani, Sittichai Pabchompoo
Director: Nati Phunmanee
Availability: Theatrical (Thailand)

BITCH SLAP (January 8 – NSFW Trailer)

The spirit of grindhouse cinema lives on in this homage to the American exploitation movie from director Rick Jacobson who has helmed similar, although more mainstream chick-powered action on TV with series such as LA FEMME NIKITA, CLEOPATRA 2525 and XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS. A plot outline really isn’t necessary, is it? Three buxom bad girls arrive at a desert hideaway where a ruthless underworld boss resides to raise hell and the situation quickly spins out of control. I imagine this is the kind of movie Quentin Tarantino might be making now if he hadn’t become an A-lister. Stunt coordination is by frequent Tarantino stuntwoman Zoe Bell.

Starring: Julia Voth, Erin Cummings, America Olivio
Director: Rick Jacobson
Stunt Coordinator: Zoe Bell
Distributor: Freestyle Releasing
Availability: Theatrical (Limited)

DAYBREAKERS (January 8 – Trailer)

Twin brothers Michael and Peter Spierig follow up their modest Aussie zombie feature UNDEAD with an upscale vampire action thriller that deals with a future where most of humankind have been turned into bloodsuckers by a plague. With the vampires’ available blood supply thinning out and the remaining humans determined to save themselves from extinction, a race for self preservation begins. Film stars Ethan Hawke, Willem Defoe, Isabel Lucas, and Sam Neill. DAYBREAKERS has been getting generally positive feedback from festival screenings. With the lackluster finale to the BLADE trilogy still fresh in the minds of many (think 113-minute iPod ad with Jessica Biel), DAYBREAKERS may be the movie to revamp the action-oriented vampire apocalypse genre.

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill
Director: Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig
Stunt Coordinator: Chris Anderson
Distributor: Lionsgate
Availability: Theatrical

BULLETS, BLOOD & A FISTFUL OF CA$H (January 12 – Trailer)

This low-budget and ultra-violent 2006 actioner comes to DVD from MTI under the shortened title of CA$H. It’s supposedly censored but to what degree I am unaware of as the film looks pretty extreme in its present form. The story takes place on a single day as a tough-as-nails ex-con with a death wish walks into the middle of a war that’s brewing between the city’s top criminal factions. The film has garnered widely diverse reviews from viewers, some claiming it kicks ass and others harping on how bad the plot is. Having just seen the film, I’m leaning towards the “kicks ass” end of the spectrum. It’s rare to see an action movie of any budget that attempts to go for pure, remorseless violence and succeed this well. Good tunes, above average direction and a bit of black humor helps it through the rough spots.

Starring: Tom Doty, Jerry Lloyd, Roy Stanton
Director: Sam Akina
Distributor: MTI Home Video
Availability: DVD, VOD

NUN OF THAT (January 12 – Trailer)

It’s another grindhouse exploitation homage, this time from director Richard Griffin, a filmmaker who apparently specializes in this sort of thing. To give you some idea of where he stands, some of his past features are titled RAVING MANIACS, SPLATTER DISCO and NECROVILLE. The film’s production company, Scorpio Film Releasing certainly has their marketing pitch perfect from the weathered, old school movie poster to the trailer. The plot concerns a nun with an attitude problem who transforms into a vengeful killer. It’s low-budget schlock but it has girls-with-guns action, lesbians, sacrilegious humor, and excessive violence and bloodletting which means it definitely has an audience.

Starring: Sarah Nicklin, Alexandra Cipolla, Shanette Wilson
Director: Richard Griffin
Distributor: Camp Motion Pictures
Availability: DVD, VOD

THE DRUMMER (January 12 – Trailer)

Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan stars in this indie crime drama from writer-director Kenneth Bi. Chan plays Sid, the son of a ruthless triad boss forced to flee Hong Kong after enraging a rival boss. He retreats to Taiwan where he encounters a troupe of Zen drummers and becomes enraptured by their artistic ability and holistic living. A wild child by nature, Sid joins the troupe and allows their way of life to temper his fierce spirit. When he returns home, Sid is forced to choose whether to return to his old life as the son of a gangster or to embrace his new life.

Starring: Jaycee Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Angelica Lee
Director: Kenneth Bi
Distributor: First Movement
Availability: DVD

URBAN ACTION COLLECTION (January 12)

BLACK BELT JONES (Trailer) / BLACK SAMSON (Trailer) / HOT POTATO / THREE THE HARD WAY (Trailer)

Warner Bros. digs into its vault to release four Blaxploitation classics previously unavailable (officially) on DVD. BLACK BELT JONES stars Jim Kelly as a karate expert called in to defend an urban karate dojo from the mob. In BLACK SAMSON, the mob is trying to turn a black night club into a drugs and firearms haven. Its owner, Samson (Rockne Tarkington), fights back. Jim Kelly returns in HOT POTATO as a martial arts expert tasked with rescuing a kidnapped ambassador’s daughter in Thailand. Three of Blaxploitation cinema’s top action stars unite in THREE THE HARD WAY. Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly team up to stop a white supremacist from tainting America’s water supply with a toxin that’s lethal only to Blacks.

Starring: Jim Kelly, Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Rockne Tarkington
Directors: Robert Clouse, Charles Bail, Oscar Williams, Gordon Parks Jr.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Availability: DVD

WRONG TURN AT TAHOE (January 12 – Trailer)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. is a debt collector for the mob who wants out but finds himself trapped in a dangerous double cross between his boss (Miguel Ferrer) and a dangerous drug dealer (Harvey Keitel). Gooding has been increasingly appearing on the DTV circuit of late. While most of the DTV productions he has starred in recently are mediocre, WRONG TURN AT TAHOE has been garnering more favorable online buzz from viewers.

Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Miguel Ferrer, Harvey Keitel
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Distributor: Paramount
Availability: DVD, VOD

THE BOOK OF ELI (January 15 – Trailer)

The Hughes brothers are not prolific filmmakers but from MENACE II SOCIETY to FROM HELL, what they do make grabs attention. With Denzel Washington playing a martial arts-fighting hero who leaves a trail of destruction across a barren, post-apocalyptic wasteland, THE BOOK OF ELI certainly has mine. Washington was trained in martial arts for six months by former Bruce Lee student Dan Inosanto and the film’s action is choreographed by Inosanto’s student Jeff Imada who previously choreographed fights for the Jason Bourne sequels. It’s great to see someone of Washington’s dramatic stature take a screen fighting role in a genre movie seriously.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Imada
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Availability: Theatrical

THE SPY NEXT DOOR (January 15 – Trailer)

It’s light action and family-friendly comedy from Jackie Chan as he plays a former CIA spy who tries to impress his girlfriend by babysitting her three kids but ends up fighting to protect them from his nemesis, a Russian terrorist, after one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula. Think THE PACIFIER, only less funny. Current JC stunt team leader Wu Gang choreographs the fight work. Chan has not one but two doubles in this movie and it doesn’t even look particularly heavy on action. Some of the action in the trailer looks like it was actually lifted straight out of THE TUXEDO. Recommendation: Go pop one of Chan’s action classics in the DVD player for your own enjoyment and leave this one to the little tikes.

Starring: Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, Madeline Carroll
Director: Brian Levant
Stunt Coordinator: Wu Gang, Bob Brown, Jon H. Epstein
Distributor: Lionsgate
Availability: Theatrical

FIREBALL (January 18 – Trailer)

Basketball and Muay Thai merge in this violent actioner from Thailand. “From an executive producer of BANGKOK DANGEROUS comes a deadly new game, FIREBALL. Tai is discharged from jail and returns home, only to find his brother in a coma. Determined to find the truth, Tai assumes his brother Tan’s identity, which ultimately leads him to an underground, ultra-violent game based on Muay Thai and basketball principles, but hosted by criminal drug lords. On a mission to find the man that hospitalized his brother, Tai risks his life to avenge him on the only court where murder is legal. No rules, no mercy, and only the strongest will survive.” The DVD is expected to come with English and Thai audio tracks, English subtitles, and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Starring: Preeti Barameeanat, Khanutra Chuchuaysuwan, Kumpanat Oungsoongnern
Director: Thanakorn Pongsuwan
Stunt Coordinator: Pangrech Sangcha
Distributor: Lionsgate
Availability: DVD, VOD

AMONG DEAD MEN (January 19 – NSFW Trailer)

Bobby Delgado (Avelino “El Rico” Lescot) is an undefeated MMA champion who serves an eight-year prison term for accidentally killing an opponent. After his release, he finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the ring by the dead fighter’s manager, Jarvis Sweet, who has sworn to get revenge for the financial loss Bobby’s win cost him. Jarvis teams with mob kingpin Sal Civelo to force Bobby to face his toughest challenge, Wade Bull, a vicious ex-underworld enforcer and killer. Underground fight films are a dime a dozen these days with seemingly everyone trying to cash in on the MMA craze. AMONG DEAD MEN appears to be yet another low-budget effort, although this time coming from Australia and featuring muscled actor and producer Avelino “El Rico” Lescot in his second indie project after EL PISTOLERO DEL DIABLO. AMONG DEAD MEN received the Best Fight Choreography award at the 2008 Action on Film Awards.

Starring: Avelino “El Rico” Lescot, Ab Vegvary, Ron Vreeken
Director: James Richards
Fight Choreographers: James Richards, Avelino “El Rico” Lescot, Ron Vreeken
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Availability: DVD

BRAVE (January 19 – Trailer)

From the team behind THE SANCTUARY comes this previous Thai actioner starring Mike B. as a man forced by the top mafia gang in Thailand to steal data from a credit card company in order to save his brother who is being held hostage. When the gang attempts to silence them both, the brothers narrowly escape and decide to confront the gang and their leader, Kovit. This leads to a battle royale as the pair fight for their lives to stop Kovit.

Starring: Mike B., Afdlin Shauki, Sahatchai Chumrun, Dean Alexandrou
Director: Thanapon Maliwan, Afdlin Shauki
Distributor: Birch Tree Entertainment
Availability: DVD

GAMER (January 19 – Trailer)

It’s a sci-fi action movie for the video game age. 300 star Gerald Butler is Kable, a living avatar in a live-action, massive-multiplayer game called Slayers where convicts become participants who are controlled by other human players and are forced to fight each other. Kable struggles to regain his freedom while taking down the game’s mastermind, played by DEXTER’s Michael C. Hall. GAMER has garnered mixed reviews since its theatrical debut back in September of last year, much the same way that its makers, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, have divided audiences with their CRANK films. Here they deal is similarly stylized, action excess that will please some and send others running.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall
Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Stunt Coordinator: Darrin Prescott
Distributor: Lionsgate
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD, VOD

PANDORUM (January 19 – Trailer)

Two astronauts on a massive sleeper ship containing 60,000 passengers in deep space awake from suspended animation disoriented and suffering from memory loss. As they begin to explore the ship in hopes of discovering what has happened to the active crew and recall their primary mission, they encounter dead bodies, desperate survivors and a horrific secret that threatens the entire ship. PANDORUM is a sci-fi horror film that comes to home video after a poor box office run and equally poor critical response. Despite this, the film has been fairly well received by audiences. Of special note, popular MMA superstar Cung Le makes his first major film appearance here.

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le
Director: Christian Alvart
Stunt Coordinator: François Doge
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD, VOD

SMOKIN’ ACES 2: ASSASSINS’ BALL (January 19 – Trailer)

The sequel to stylized crime actioner SMOKIN’ ACES (2007) makes its DTV debut, this time with director Joe Carnahan taking a back seat as executive producer while he works on the big screen actioner THE A-TEAM. An unassuming FBI desk jockey (Tom Berenger) becomes the target of a team of degenerate, oddball assassins dispatched by mystery man Hal Leuco. There is no getting around the fact that this is a lesser attempt to cash in on the success of the first film. In addition to going DTV, none of the cast members from the original are back. Director P.J. Pesce seems to be the go-to guy for handling franchise leftovers. He directed FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 (who knew there was such a film?), SNIPER 3 with Berenger in the lead and episodes for the ill-fated TV series TREMORS. Still, the film looks like it could be B-grade fun.

Starring: Vinnie Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Tom Berenger
Director: P.J. Pesce
Stunt Coordinator: Scott Ateah
Distributor: Universal
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD, VOD

CHAMPION ROAD (January 19 – Trailer)

After his wife is diagnosed with cancer, Jonathan Mercer turns to underground street fighting to raise money for treatment while his sister, an FBI agent named Robyn, investigates the head of the same fighting circuit for his involvement with a large number of murdered fighters. With the stakes increasing, Jonathan suffers a brutal defeat but ultimately returns to finish what he started. CHAMPION ROAD is the debut production of indie action filmmaker R.L. Scott. The production looks very low budget but impressive fight work is reminiscent of Hong Kong action minus the wires. What appears to be a more action-oriented sequel, CHAMPION ROAD: ARENA, is scheduled for a limited theatrical run in the spring of 2010.

Starring: Balogun Abagunde, Jerome Ro Brooks, Conrad Clifton
Director: R.L. Scott, Monyque Thompson Scott
Distributor: Maverick Entertainment Group
Availability: DVD

WHITEOUT (January 19 – Trailer)

Kate Beckinsale stars as a U.S. Marshall assigned to investigate a murder in Antarctica only three days before a vicious winter whiteout arrives. She crosses paths with a U.N. operative (Gabriel Macht) who is also investigating this case that grows deadlier by the day as more bodies turn up. Ever since starring in UNDERWORLD, British actress Kate Beckinsale has become something of an action star and sex symbol in one. This film attempts to build on that status by putting her in the lead of a more conventional actioner, but without the tight leather pants and monster angle, it’s a harder sell.

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt
Director: Dominic Sena
Stunt Coordinator: Steve Lucescu
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD, VOD

ATTACK THE GAS STATION 2 (January 21 – Trailer)

Sequel to Kim Sang-jin’s popular 1999 comedy film where four bored thugs held up a gas station for a second time only to find there was no money to be had so they took everyone in the station hostage and began pumping gas for customers to collect their money. Much of the humor was derived from the odd collection of people who came and went and their increasingly troubled interactions with the would-be robbers. There was also a fair amount of hooligan-style brawling that appears to have been incorporated into the sequel. Director Kim Sang-jin is back but the original cast has been replaced by a fresh group of actors.

Starring: Joo Hyun-woo, Jo Han-seon, Baek Jong-hak
Director: Kim Sang-jin
Distributor: Cinema Service
Availability: Theatrical (South Korea)

BAD BLOOD (January 21 – Trailer)

After a Hong Kong triad boss is arrested and executed in China, chaos erupts as potential successors compete to take his place. BAD BLOOD comes from the team behind Jacky Wu Jing actioners FATAL CONTACT and FATAL MOVE, featuring writer-director Dennis Law and action director Nicky Li, a former head of Jackie Chan’s stunt team. The pair have yet to move beyond making mediocre, B-grade action but BAD BLOOD has a killer cast list of veteran and up-and-coming action stars too good to pass up despite early bad buzz from Twitch’s Todd Brown who walked out on a screening and called it “weak.” The star player to watch will be wushu sensation and COWEB starlet Jiang Lu-xia who is being groomed as a martial arts star and already has the moves to match.

Starring: Simon Yam, Bernice Liu, Lam Suet, Jiang Lu-xia, Andy On, Ken Lo, Xiong Xin-xin
Director: Dennis Law
Action Director: Nicky Li
Distributor: China Star Entertainment
Availability: Theatrical (HK)

LEGION (January 22 – Trailer)

Spiritual warfare takes on literal meaning in this supernatural action thriller where God sends angels to Earth, specifically a smaller diner in the middle of nowhere, to bring about the apocalypse. All that stands between the wrath of God and utter ruination is Archangel Michael (Paul Betteny) and a small band of humans. Based on the trailer, the film looks like THE PROPHECY meets TREMORS. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not but effects work should be decent. Scott Steward, a visual effects guru who has worked on films such as SIN CITY and John Woo’s RED CLIFF makes his directing debut and will soon follow this up with another religious horror combo, PRIEST.

VEER (January 22 – Trailer)

Based on a script he wrote 20 years prior, Salman Khan stars in this lavish historical epic as heroic warrior Veer who plots to overthrow British rule in Colonial India while romancing a beautiful princess (Zarine Khan). The story is inspired by Russian author Nikolao Gogol’s novel “Taras Bulba” and action sequences appear influenced by Wolfgang Petersen’s sword and sandal epic TROY. The film apparently plays fast and loose with history and has received only a modest reception in India.

Starring: Salman Khan, Zarine Khan, Mithun Chakraborty
Director: Anil Sharma
Action Choreographer: Tinnu Verma, Peter Pedrero
Distributor: Eros International
Availability: Theatrical – India

ZIPANG (January 25 – Trailer)

Interesting looking fantasy chambara film brought to the U.K. by HB Films. “Jigoku is the leader of a small band of renegades who live the dangerous life of treasure hunters. Jigoku has a bounty on his head, and pursued by the hard-headed female bounty hunter named Yuri the Pistol. During the exploration of a mysterious cave, Jigoku’s band discover a mysterious golden sword, which is supposedly the key to the mystical world called Zipang, the land of gold.”

Starring: Masahiro Takashima, Narumi Yasuda, Mikijiro Hira
Director: Kaizo Hayashi
Distributor: HB Films
Availability: DVD (UK)

FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (January 26 – Trailer)

Chang Cheh’s kung fu classic comes to home video in the U.S. fully remastered and restored, with English and Mandarin audio and English subtitles. Prior to this film, most of Chang’s Venoms Mob had split with the director to shoot their own lesser ninja movie in Taiwan called NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP. Remaining Venoms star Lo Meng carries the torch with the aid of a new set of kung fu co-stars in this outrageous martial arts actioner where ninjas infiltrate and assault a kung fu school, resulting in copious amounts of excessive bloodshed, fight work and martial heroism as only Chang Cheh can deliver.

Starring: Cheng Tien-chi, Lung Tien-hsiang, Lo Meng, Chan Wai-man
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Director: Cheng Tien-chi, Chu Ke
Distributor: Media Blasters
Availability: DVD

GIVE ‘EM HELL MALONE (January 26 – Trailer)

HIGHLANDER director Russell Mulcahy takes on the hard-boiled detective genre with this indie noir actioner starring Thomas Jane (THE PUNISHER) as a tough private eye who battles vicious gangsters to protect a valuable secret. This film has been kicking around for some time, waiting for distribution and I’m happy to see it finally make its way to home video, in part for the involvement of Donnie Yen’s sister, Chris Yen who has a supporting role in the film, but mostly because it looks like it has successfully merged old school noir with modern, rugged action conventions.

Starring: Thomas Jane Ving Rhames, Doug Hutchison, Elsa Pataky
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Stunt Coordinator: Gregg Smrz
Distributor: National Entertainment Media
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD

HARD REVENGE MILLY: HYPER VIOLENCE COLLECTION (January 26 – Trailer 1 / Trailer 2)

This action two-pack from Well Go USA contains two movies, HARD REVENGE MILLY and HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE. Both films are a throwback to female revenge actioners of the past with heavy doses of gore in keeping with current B-movie trends in Japan. In a post-apocalyptic Japan, Yokohama City is ruled by a vicious gang run by The Jack Brothers. After they murder Milly’s family and leave her to die, she vows revenge. Milly learns swordsmanship from master swordsman Jubei to battle The Jack Brothers. In BLOODY BATTLE, Milly takes on a protégé named Haru and trains her so she can avenge the death of her boyfriend while facing a new threat from a deadly cyborg.

Starring: Mika Mizuno
Director: Takanori Tsujimoto
Distributor: Well Go USA
Stunt Coordinator: Kensuke Sonomura
Availability: DVD

SURROGATES (January 26 – Trailer)

“In the not-so-distant future, where people experience life through perfect surrogates controlled from the safety of their own homes, murder is a thing of the past. But when a college student linked to the creator of these replicants is killed, one FBI agent must re-enter reality and risk his life to unravel the mystery. In the battle of technology versus humanity, who can you trust?” It’s another live-action avatar movie from 2009, except that unlike AVATAR and GAMERS the avatars here are robots. This one also has Bruce “Yippie-Kai-Yay” Willis, although seemingly without the brash attitude and one-liners which isn’t quite as fun.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Stunt Coordinator: Wade Eastwood, Jery Hewitt
Distributor: Touchstone
Availability: Blu-ray, DVD

WUSHU (January 26 – Trailer)

Antony Szeto’s WUSHU depicts real-life contemporary wushu (as opposed to traditional kung fu, fantasy wire-fu or Chinese acrobatic-fu) in a dramatic film featuring real-life wushu champions including up-and-coming star Wang Wenjie. Li Er, a teenage sanda fighter falls in love with a young girl training in wushu. To court her, he drops his ambitions of becoming a champion contact fighter to learn wushu at the same school. While struggling to learn a new art and with his loss of status as a fighter, Li Er tries to get the girl to notice him. Hong Kong movie legends Sammo Hung and Wu Ma also star. The film’s wushu action was choreographed by Szeto who is an accomplished wushu artist, previously responsible for directing the animated martial arts movie DRAGONBLADE. The DVD is expected to include English and Mandarin audio, English subtitles, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and Cannes world premiere footage with Jackie Chan.

Starring: Sammo Hung, Liu Fengchao, Wang Wenjie
Director: Antony Szeto
Action Director: Antony Szeto, Douglas Hung
Distributor: Lionsgate
Availability: DVD, VOD

14 BLADES (January 28 – Trailer)

During the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor possesses an elite force of Imperial Guards recruited as adolescent orphans and trained into adulthood in clandestine combat. These guards, who answer only to the Emperor, have become masters of the 14 Blades; eight blades for torture, five blades for killing and a final blade for suicide should any mission fail. After the court is taken over by evil eunuch Jia (Law Kar-ying), top Imperial Guards Qinglong (Donnie Yen) and Xuanwu (Qi Yuwu) are tasked with stealing a list revealing persons loyal to the Emperor. Unbeknownst to Qinglong, the other guards have fallen under the control of the eunuch. During their mission, Qinglong is betrayed by Xuanwu and subsequently becomes the most wanted man in the Empire. Qinglong sets out to rally support among Imperial loyalists to depose Jia and restore the Emperor to power. 14 BLADES is an ambitious wuxia actioner from director Daniel Lee (THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON) that re-teams Yen with actress Vicki Zhao following PANTED SKIN. Lee is a filmmaker with a spotty track record when it comes to action movies. However, visually and conceptually, this one already looks to be one of his best efforts. The film is opening first in Singapore and will expand to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan beginning February 4.

Starring: Donnie Yen, Vicki Zhao, Wu Chun
Director: Daniel Lee
Action Director: Ku Huan-chiu
Distributor: Golden Village Pictures
Availability: Theatrical (Singapore)

CONFUCIUS (January 28 – Trailer)

Chow Yun-fat takes on the role of one of the world’s most famous philosophers. This sweeping and epic biopic from director Hu Mei tells the story of Chinese philosopher Confucius. Hu’s script includes elements of action and romance that has led to some controversy, in addition to the casting of Chow, an action film veteran. In between getting the film completed, Hu has spent the last year defending her vision for the film. Doubtless, few Westerners, least of all Chow Yun-fat fans, are going to object to seeing a vigorous depiction of the ancient thinker. After all, movies are meant to entertain first, yes? CONFUCIUS opens in China and Hong Kong on January 28.

Starring: Chow Yun-fat, Zhou Xun, Lu Yi
Director: Hu Mei
Distributor: China Film Group
Availability: Theatrical (China)

EDGE OF DARKNESS (January 29 – Trailer)

Mel Gibson is back in his first leading role in six years looking decidedly older and more grizzled yet still capable of mustering anguished facial expressions and throwing down with the best of them. This time he’s following a well-trodden path the likes of which Terence Stamp, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme have previously tread by portraying a revenge-seeking cop out to avenge the death of his activist daughter. The slightly different angle here is that he learns his daughter was involved in shady dealings with the government and her death was part of a cover-up. It’s anybody’s guess how this film will fare since Gibson is a little rusty in front of the screen and isn’t likely to top People’s sexiest man alive list this year. The film is director Martin Campbell’s big screen adaptation of a well received TV miniseries he directed back in 1985 for the BBC. Campbell has since proven himself to be a competent action filmmaker with James Bond films GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE, and the two most recent ZORRO swashbucklers starring Antonio Banderas.

Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
Director: Martin Campbell
Stunt Coordinator: Gary Powell
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Availability: Theatrical

JAGGUBHAI (January 29 – Trailer)

This Tamil-language actioner is likened to Luc Besson’s WASABI. An East Indian cop (Sarath Kumar) returns to Australia 20 years after a failed mission there to protect a daughter (Shriya Saran) he has never met. Her mother, a woman he had a brief romantic relationship with during his first visit to the country is dead and now their daughter is threatened by the same thugs he tried and failed to stop 20 years ago. As with most of India’s film output, this action appears to embrace the ever popular song and dance routine but there also appears to be a fair amount of action too.

Starring: Sarath Kumar, Shriya Saran
Director: K. S. Ravikumar
Availability: Theatrical – India

MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT (January 29 – Trailer)

A Russian organized crime group is set out to steal an advanced chemical weapon from Korea and two secret agents are out to stop them. One is a veteran secret agent named AHN Soo-ji who is a master of all forms of martial arts and envied by her comrades. Another is a rookie named LEE Jae-joon who’s never been out on the field and always goofs up on the job. The two agents don’t know each other’s secret identity. All that they know is that they hate each other. As a couple that is… Soo-ji and Jae-joon were once a passionate couple until Jae-joon couldn’t take her lies anymore. But all Soo-ji was trying to do was hide her secret identity. Nonetheless, the two went on their separate ways and by coincidence bump into each other years later while out on the job. As the two work out their screwy relationship, they go behind each other’s backs to fulfill their mission to save the world.

Starring: Kim Ha-neul, Kang Ji-hwan
Director: Terra Shin
Distributor: Universe
Availability: DVD (Hong Kong)

Are any titles missing from this list? If so, post your suggestions in the comment section below or send me an email at kungfucinema@gmail.com.

Related Topics:
14 Blades (2010)  •  Among Dead Men (2008)  •  Attack the Gas Station 2 (2010)  •  Bad Blood (2010)  •  Bitch Slap (2010)  •  Black Belt Jones (1974)  •  Black Ransom (2010)  •  Black Samson (1974)  •  Blood & A Fistful of Ca$h (2006)  •  Brave (2008)  •  Champion Road (2008)  •  Confucius (2010)  •  Daybreakers (2009)  •  Edge of Darkness (2010)  •  Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008)  •  Fireball (2009)  •  Five Elements Ninjas (1982)  •  Gamer (2009)  •  Give 'em Hell Malone (2009)  •  Hard Revenge Milly (2008)  •  Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle (2009)  •  Hot Potato (1976)  •  Jaggubhai (2010)  •  Legion (2010)  •  Long Arm of the Law (1984)  •  Long Arm of the Law II (1987)  •  My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009)  •  No Mercy (2010)  •  Nun of That (2009)  •  Pandorum (2009)  •  Se-Sing Confirm (2010)  •  Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010)  •  Surrogates (2009)  •  The Book of Eli (2010)  •  The Drummer (2007)  •  The Spy Next Door (2010)  •  Three the Hard Way (1974)  •  Whiteout (2009)  •  Wrong Turn at Tahoe (2010)  •  Wushu (2008)  •  Zipang (1990)