Action
Rod Lott
Proof that "13 Assassins" isn't your everyday Takashi Miike film: The opening scene depicts a man committing hara-kiri, and just as the sword is about to be inserted into his stomach, the director cuts away.

Action
Rod Lott
I can't think of the last time a straight-up martial arts film got a wide theatrical release. Ten, 15 years ago, it used to happen all the time after Jackie Chan burst through with "Rumble in the Bronx." Not every Hong Kong actioner is worth importing these days, of course, but "True Legend" s widespread love that one hopes it will find on Blu-ray and DVD.

Action
Rod Lott
Can Steven Soderbergh do a martial arts-fueled action thriller? That was rhetorical in a bear-crap way; the guy can do anything. Best known for Traffic and the Ocean's Eleven franchise, he's a director par excellence, even when the story goes to snuff in his experimental larks, like casting porn star Sasha Grey as the lead in 2009’s no-budget drama The Girlfriend Experience.

Action
Rod Lott
Since 2005, Synapse Films has helped keep the sticky-floored spirit of grindhouse cinema alive by issuing collections of coming attractions under the 42nd Street Forever banner. Interested parties can catch up on the half-dozen titles thus far on DVD (I have, minus the lone XXX-Treme one) or opt for the new Blu-ray Edition. It's essentially a "greatest hits" piece, culling 80 trailers from all previous volumes.

Action
Rod Lott
Fans of pure action cinema are apt to grow delirious with glee over The Raid: Redemption, an Indonesian crime thriller that relies so much upon the universal language of violence, one could enjoy it without subtitles.