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Stars: Jose Manuel, Caitlin Dechelle, Mark Strange, Jade Xu, Miguel Peralta, Lathrop Walker, Matt Goodwin | Written by Ryan C Jaeger, H. Daniel Gross | Directed by Ryan C Jaeger

The trailer for Kung Fu Games boasts that it’s from one of the executive producers of Halloween: Resurrection. For those who don’t remember, that’s the one where Michael Myers gets beaten up by rapper Busta Rhymes. The fact that they thought a connection to that film was something to boast about should have been all the warning I needed.

Instead, I found myself watching a group of confused people wake up in what looks like a subway car as lights flash and sirens sound. A door opens, and they run out into what looks like a fog enshrouded bamboo forest, where one of them gets impaled with a spear and the rest get attacked by fighters who rappel down from the clouds.

"Show me who you are." Samuel Goldwyn Films has released a second official trailer for a crime thriller titled Ecco, or Ecco, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Ben Medina. We posted another trailer for this back in 2019, but it's just now getting a VOD release hence a new trailer. Ecco is about a former assassin named Michael, living a new life in the shadows with his family, who emerges from hiding to discover the origin of his lethal beginnings. To protect his family and to pursue his only chance at redemption, he must hunt those running the organization that once used to control him. Lathrop Walker stars, with Tabitha Bastien, Helena Grace Donald, Mahria Zook, S. Joe Downing, Mark Sehlbach, plus Michael Winters. This doesn't look as bad as so many other action films recently - might actually be worth a watch. Here's the second official trailer for Ben Medina's film Ecco,...

It takes a very long time for the protagonist of “Ecco” — or its viewers, for that matter — to figure out just who (or what) he is. This espionage/fugitive tale in the “Bourne” mode, albeit with less emphasis on physical action, also “echoes” films like “Memento” and “The Prestige” in its convoluted, puzzle-like narrative. But there’s more repetition and ponderousness than compelling intrigue in the end result here. The biggest mystery about this polished but underwhelming thriller is how in this day and age a starless feature from filmmakers without a track record managed to open on 200-odd U.S. screens. That’s a major leap of faith unlikely to be rewarded by much box-office traffic.

The opening setpiece has a private planeload of a shadowy corporation’s board members meeting a collective premature end at the hands of a pilot, who parachutes out before letting the vessel crash.

The new thriller Ecco is poised to make a big splash when it opens in over 40 cities nationwide on Friday, August 9th. I had a chance to chat with up-and-coming director Ben Medina about his vision for the project, and why he wants audiences to plan on multiple viewings.   Where did the idea for Ecco come from?   The story of Ecco was born from many conversation with my friend and lead actor Lathrop Walker. While living together in Los Angeles we developed multiple story and script treatments, one of which became Ecco. The ideas around the main character, Michael, blossomed from hours of development around creating a grounded narrative about a man, living in the shadows of his former life as a...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"I had to make sure that they'd never find us again..." Citadel Films has debuted an official trailer for an indie crime thriller titled Ecco, or Ecco, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Ben Medina. Ecco is about a former assassin named Michael, living a new life in the shadows with his family, who emerges from hiding to discover the origin of his lethal beginnings. To protect his family and to pursue his only chance at redemption, he must hunt those behind the organization where all his sins were born. Lathrop Walker stars as Michael, with a cast including Tabitha Bastien, Helena Grace Donald, Mahria Zook, S. Joe Downing, Mark Sehlbach, and Michael Winters. These kind of assassin vengeance thrillers as a dime a dozen these days, but this looks pretty damn good. At least there's some style to it! Might be worth a watch. Here's the first official trailer...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Afterschool" (2009)

Directed by Antonio Campos

Released by Mpi Home Video

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]

"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)

Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh

Released by Well Go USA

Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.