Production Starts on New Line's Action Adventure "Mortal Kombat"

Production is underway on New Line Cinema’s “Mortal Kombat,” with award-winning Australian commercial filmmaker Simon McQuoid at the helm, marking his feature directorial debut.  The explosive action adventure is based on the blockbuster video game franchise, which recently released the most successful video game launch in its history, Mortal Kombat 11.

The diverse international cast reflects the global nature of the brand, with talent spanning the worlds of film, television and martial arts.  The ensemble includes Joe Taslim as Sub Zero; Ludi Lin as Liu Kang; Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson as Kano; Tadanobu Asano as Raiden; Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Bridges; Chin Han as Shang Tsung; Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion; Max Huang as Kung Lao; Sisi Stringer as Mileena; and Lewis Tan.

REEL DEAL: Dead Mine REVIEW (SM CinExlusive)

Asian Movies are leveling up to Hollywood standards and does not want to be left out. And for this year, HBO Asia produced their first movie together with Infinite Studios,  DEAD MINE. Bringing together international actors in the region is an exciting mix.  

This movie gives a different twist to the infamous Yamashita Treasure that is (still) searched here in the Philippines, makes it way to the islands of Sulawesi in Indonesia. As a team of explorers and soldiers go on this quest, they found a very morbid truth inside an abandoned mine.

Dead Mine features mostly Indonesian actors like Ario Bayu, Bang Tigor, Joe Taslim and Mike Lewis which some played in another SM CinExlcusive The Raid Redemption. Other cast members are Mike Lewis, Carmen Soo and Les Loveday, Jimmy T, Sam Hazeldine and Miki Mizuno. 

REEL DEAL: The Raid Redemption REVIEW

Really don't judge a book (film) by its cover. This has been proven when I saw the screening of the Indonesian Action Film, The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan Muat in Indonesia). The film is under the direction of G.H. Evans and stars the rising Indonesian actor, Iko Uwais. The Raid is the 2nd film of G.H. Evans and Iko Uwais together. Their first film is Merantau, released in 2009, and is considered one of the best martial art films. Like Merantau, The Raid also features the pencak silat, an indigenous fighting style created in Indonesia. Aside from pencak silat, The Raid incorporates different fighting styles. The cast is actually composed of professional martial artists from different disciplines.

The film is presented by METANTAU FILMS and XTZ FILMS in association with Celluloid Nightmare. The film is about an elite team of cops tasked to raid a rundown 15-storey apartment and remove its owner, a notorious drug lord called Tama. The apartment has never been touched by the police before and is now a sanctuary of infamous gangsters. The team infiltrates the apartment but a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover. Tama orders the lockdown on the building. While the team has been stranded on one of the building’s floors, Tama solicits the aid of notorious criminals to defeat the special unit.