New Trailer for 4K Release of Abandoned 1984 Movie ‘New York Ninja’

by Alex Billington
September 28, 2021
Source: YouTube

“This city owes… justice.” Vinegar Syndrome has unveiled the brand new trailer for a long lost 80s campy action film titled New York Ninja, which has been finished and is ready for release in 4K this year after a premiere at Beyond Fest. Originally directed by starring martial arts actor John Liu in his only American production, New York Ninja was filmed entirely on 35mm in 1984, but the project was abandoned during production resulting in all original sound materials, scripts, and treatments going missing. 35 years later, Vinegar Syndrome acquired the original unedited negative and painstakingly completed the film. Now with the voices of Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Linnea Quigley, Michael Berryman, Vince Murdocco, Matt Mitler, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Ginger Lynn Allen, and Cynthia Rothrock. A sound technician for a news station becomes a vigilante ninja in NYC after his pregnant wife is murdered. Restored in 4K from the original camera elements, New York Ninja is “finally available in all of its ridiculous over-the-top glory for the first time ever… after spending nearly four decades in film obscurity.” Okay, I NEED to see this.

Here’s the official 2021 trailer (+ poster) for John Liu Kurtis Spieler’s New York Ninja, from YouTube:

John (John Liu) is just an average man working as a sound technician for a New York City news station, until one day his pregnant wife is brutally murdered after witnessing the kidnapping of a young woman in broad daylight. Turning to the police for help, John soon learns that the city is overrun with crime and the police are too busy to help deal with most of it. Dressing as a white ninja, John takes to the streets as a sword wielding vigilante hell bent on cleaning up the streets of the city he once loved by ridding it of muggers, pickpockets, rapists, and gang members. However, in John’s quest for justice, he soon finds himself the target of every criminal in the city, including a mysterious villain known only as the Plutonium Killer. Will John survive to become the hero that New York City so desperately needs? New York Ninja is directed by John Liu (who also directed Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris, Made in China, Dragon Blood in the 80s) Kurtis Spieler (Sheep Skin, The Devil’s Well). Produced by Brad Henderson, Arthur Schweitzer, Kurtis Spieler. The finished film will premiere at Beyond Fest 2021 in LA this year. Vinegar Syndrome will then debut New York Ninja on VOD / dvd later this fall. Stay tuned for more. Who’s ready to watch this?

Find more posts: To Watch, Trailer

The opening scene of the movie shows the character of Joju George, who looks similar to his appearance in the acclaimed movie Joseph, having a heated argument with a government official over some court order. He then leaves the government office and on the way back, he breaks the flag post of the left-wing party, which is obvious from the red colour post. From then on the mood of the movie is humorous in nature, but a kind of humour that feels too forced or artificial.

Oru Thathwika Avalokanam is set against the backdrop of an imaginary village named Ramankallu, where a by-election is around the corner and all three prominent parties are gearing up for elections. Though the movie hasn’t used the real names of the political parties active in Kerala, it has used all the obvious signs to make everyone understand who is who by using the popular terminologies and symbols like red flags, ‘Khadar’, Rakhi, ‘Sakhavu’ and ‘Ji’.

The movie shows the insincere, fake and hypocritical politicians from all three major parties who are only interested in their personal gains. Though the film balances its apolitical stance by mocking all three political parties, it is clear that the director has more angst against the current ruling regime of Kerala. The usual cliché of a communist worker going to see an astrologer in the cover of night and a communist leader who fights for the rights of women in public but is a typical male chauvinist husband at home are some of the attempts at satire in the movie. The satire against BJP or RSS is limited to the usual beef comedies that have been done to death in recent Malayalam movies.

The plot of the movie is further carried forward by the character named Ananthu played by young actor Niranj Raju Pillai, son of Maniyan Pillai Raju. Ananthu is an aspiring police officer who, on his way to write the PSC exam, accidently falls prey to the fight between the workers of rival political parties. He then gives a class to the political leaders, calling out the hypocrisy of the political parties. His speech goes viral. Joju’s character uses Ananthu’s fame to plot revenge against the political leader who destroyed his life and profession in the past.

The most unbearable part of the movie is the parallel comedy plot of two idiotic terrorists who come to Kerala in order to complete a mission. The comedy falls flat and is totally irrelevant to the main plot of the movie which makes it a horrible watch.

Joju George plays Shankar, a genuine contractor who is betrayed by political parties. Joju plays the character convincingly but the absence of an engaging script plays spoilsport. Niranj Maniyan Pillai delivers a decent performance. Shammi Thilakan, Aju Varghese, Major Ravi and Jayakrishnan seemed over animated in their performance, possibly because of lack of depth in script.

Overall, the movie felt like a product of inspiration from the age old classic Sandesham, though this time the message is weak and overtly apolitical.

But more importantly, the movie throws a light on — and is saddled with the expectations of — a much larger theatrical business. “Die” will try to kick-start a onetime $43 billion global industry that, after a year of shutdowns and six months of erratic attendance, has been whipped and pushed to the brink with a ferocity that Blofeld himself couldn’t imagine. The fourth quarter that begins this weekend will bring a wide range of releases exclusively to theaters: comedies, horror pictures, dramas, thrillers, musicals, tales of comic-book superheroism (including Sony’s Marvel sequel “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” on Friday in the United States).

Now it’s your turn! What’s a movie that’s so good, you’d recommend that everyone watch it once, but you couldn’t ever personally bring yourself to watch it again? Share your pick (or picks) in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Full Trailer for del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’ with Cooper Blanchett

by Alex Billington
November 18, 2021
Source: YouTube

“Can you read minds?” “Yes I can, under the right circumstances…” Searchlight Pictures has revealed the full official trailer for the new Guillermo del Toro film titled Nightmare Alley, an adaptation of the 1946 novel of the same name. We featured the first teaser a few months ago. The book was also adapted into a famous 1947 film also titled Nightmare Alley, but Guillermo says he’s going to back to the book for a fresh take on this story. An ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist even more dangerous than he is. The exquisite cast includes Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, and David Strathairn. This is a must see just for that cast alone! My goodness. What a line-up. This trailer is filled with mystery intrigue, more than enough to sell me. Who’s ready for del Toro’s latest?

Here’s the full official trailer (+ poster) for Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, direct from YouTube:

You can rewatch the first teaser trailer for del Toro’s Nightmare Alley here, to view the first look again.

Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words, hooks up with Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is. Nightmare Alley is directed by visionary Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, director of the films Cronos, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy I II, Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water previously, as well as lots of producing work plus development on other projects. The screenplay is written by Kim Morgan and Guillermo del Toro, adapted from William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name. Produced by J. Miles Dale and Guillermo del Toro. Searchlight Pictures will debut del Toro’s Nightmare Alley in theaters everywhere starting December 17th, 2021. Look any good?

Find more posts: To Watch, Trailer

Fans of the romantic comedy genre may know the movie 27 Dresses, in which Katherine Heigl’s character serves as a bridesmaid an astonishing 27 times. 

Vancouver actor Nelson Wong can relate to that number — his claim to fame is his 27 roles in Hallmark movies. 

Review by Brian Lowry, CNN

Updated 10:43 AM ET, Sat December 25, 2021

Among A-list filmmakers, Spielberg is one of the last streaming holdouts. Although his company, Amblin, signed a multiyear deal in June to make feature films for Netflix, Spielberg has pushed for his directorial projects to remain theatrical exclusives. At the New York City premiere of “West Side Story,” he thanked Disney executives for giving his film an old-fashioned theatrical rollout, despite the pandemic, rather than rerouting it to a streaming service, as the company had notably done with “Hamilton.” (On Thursday, Disney removed a Ben Affleck thriller, “Deep Water,” from its January theatrical release schedule; the movie is expected to stream on Amazon Prime or Hulu instead.)

So it was distressing for Hollywood traditionalists to see “West Side Story” arrive to even lower ticket sales than “In the Heights.” That euphorically reviewed Warner Bros. musical took in $11.5 million over its first three days in theaters in June — even though it was simultaneously available to stream at no extra cost on HBO Max. Box office analysts used words like “fizzled” and “dismal” to describe opening-weekend ticket sales for “In the Heights.”

Live-action musicals have long been a challenged genre at the box office. But they can still be winners, especially if they have starry casts. “The Greatest Showman” had Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Michelle Williams and Zac Efron. The successful “Les Misérables” (2012), had Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp and others powered “Into the Woods” (2014), to $31 million in opening-weekend ticket sales. (One exception: Universal’s all-star “Cats.”)

“In the Heights,” in contrast, lacked household names. Ditto “Dear Evan Hansen,” which face-planted in September. And “West Side Story” only has one proven box office star: Spielberg.

Another 15,363 Omicron cases have been found in the UK, the biggest daily increase since the Covid-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total Omicron cases found in the country to 60,508, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed Tuesday.

The UK reported 90,629 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 11,542,143, according to official figures released on Tuesday.