Tiger Style Media Launches with 4 New Martial Arts Releases

Tiger Style Media is launching an explosive new era of martial arts cinema with 4 all-new action packed films: ART OF EIGHT LIMBS, THE LOCKDOWN, LADY SCORPIONS, and KUNG FU GAMES. The films will be released theatrically and soon followed by Digital releases on all major platforms starting August 20, one week at a time. TIGER STYLE PRESENTS: THE ULTIMATE 4-MOVIE MARTIAL ARTS COLLECTION, a bundle featuring all 4 films, will also be available to buy on Digital September 10.

Enhance Your Fake Kung Fu with a Dragon Grip!

You know what the hardest thing is when I'm pretend fighting imaginary ninjas? The sound effects. Those KI YA sounds have to come right from the gut to sound convincing...and don't even get me started on the wide array of Bruce Lee attack noises. On top of that, you have the added anxiety of creating convincing sounds to accompany your blazing fist of justice and demon lightning foot!! Now, one company seeks to take that pressure off of you.

Dragon Grip Interactive, creators of real life gaming experiences, unveils the Dragon Grip. The Dragon Grip is a patented hand held toy that makes kung fu fighting sound effects. Dragon Grips are available today for pre-sale on Kickstarter.com. The project closes June 24, 2012.

The Dragon Grip is an action packed, handheld toy that emits fight sounds, verbal taunts and general sound effects to immerse the player in a video game like experience anytime, anywhere. Choreographing those sound effects with their own fighting moves and style, the player can create a surreal kung fu experience of their own.

Based on Dragon Grip’s “Legend City” comic books and influenced by classic 1970’s kung fu martial art films, the developers wanted to create a toy that looked as cool as it was fun to play. With a video game like controller featuring a familiar raised directional keypad, gamers can start creating kung fu action sounds at the push of a button. Available in First Edition (black w/red) and a special Kickstarter Reverse Color Way (red w/black) Special Edition, each model includes unique martial arts inspired dragon logos etched onto the device’s handle.



The Dragon Grip is currently a Kickstarter project developed by Paul Mark and John Fearon, creators of Dragon Grip Interactive. All who are interested are encouraged to back the Dragon Grip before June 24, 2012. For more information about Dragon Grip, color options, and to pre-order, visit Kickstarter.com.

Toy Fair 2012 : Bandai : Power Rangers

Back into Toy Fair 2012 coverage with a run down of all Bandai is dishing out for Power Rangers this year! It's been a tough fight, but your favorite skittles colored Kung Fu kids are back on top and they look to keep that spot for the foreseeable future, starting with this year's Super Samurai theme! This expands on last year's Samurai theme, allowing kids already familiar with the previous show to continue the adventure along with familiar characters and power sets rather than throw them into a new forest or space theme that would force them to start all over again. Bandai, as always, are offering a wide array of toys and role play items to meet the demand for this eternally awesome brand.

note for hardcore fans: I used a lot of the pre-written press from Bandai, but peppered it with plenty of info from my walk through, so read on!

Saban’s Power Rangers® is the iconic kids action brand universally recognized throughout the world for its adventure, heart, and humor. Now in its 19th year in the U.S., the Power Rangers franchise has “powered up” into Super Samurai with bigger battles, badder-villains and super-sized heroics. Airing on Nickelodeon, the unique live-action TV series allows boys to “morph” into their first super-hero experience where teamwork is the key to good winning over evil. In this latest installment, the Power Rangers must harness the power of an all new Black Box Morpher, super-powered weapons, Shogun mode, and the biggest Megazord ever – Gigazord!

Together, Bandai America Incorporated and Saban Brands roll out the newest line up of Power Rangers toys! All aligned with the “Power Rangers Super Samurai” TV series, the line includes unique action figures, vehicles, role play items and Megazords, which make this brand stand out from the rest.

Power Rangers 2 inch Mini Battle Figures 6 pack : Super Deformed figures inspired by the Power Rangers mobile app game on iTunes. SRP: $19.99

Retrofire Megazords : Offering a smaller, sleeker design of highly articulated Zords straight from the show. Of interest is that these seem to be in scale with the popular Revoltech toy series, allowing you to cross your Power Rangers big bots with classic bots from that line! SRP: $14.99


Power Rangers 4 inch Action Figures : The Rangers clothing and battle gear reveals different levels of power taken on in the TV show. Super Mega Modes and Shogun Modes will both be reflected in this figure line!

Power Rangers Build and Morph Sets : Allowing you to build your 4 inch action figure from the ground up. Also includes an emblem that converts into a Zord. SRP: $16.99

Power Rangers 6.5 inch Morphin Figures : The Power Rangers Battle Morphin Figure is ready to protect earth from evil! Keep villains away by unlocking a cool “morph” feature using a joy stick featured on the back of the figure. Utilizing cool toy technology this superhero is posed with unique battle gear ready for training or battle. Place your thumb on the back of the figure in the joy stick dial and wield the Ranger’s weapon with complete control in any direction! As seen in the TV series, this weapon action enables the Rangers to protect earth, and now you can practice training moves with your own Ranger! Available in 4 Ranger colors this Fall! SRP: $12.99


Power Rangers 12 inch Shogun Figures : 3 ways to play - Mega Mode..add all 14 pieces of Shogun Ranger Armor for a second mode and then pose him his final Ultimate Shogun Mode. SRP: $24.99

Morphin Vehicles : Morph into 7 different Morph Modes! Includes battle armor that is interchangeable with other vehicles and work as weapons for your action figures as well. SRP: $6.99



Power Rangers Sword Cycle with Figure : Put your Power Rangers Sword Cycle in motion to race to anywhere evil lurks, in style! The Samurai inspired translucent swords on the Cycle can detach. Collect the 4-inch Power Ranger figures (each sold separately) and attach the swords onto their hands. For added power collect and combine the Sword Cycle with multiple items in the ZordBuilder Collection (each sold separately): the Samurai Megazord or Transporter Vehicle (#31575 and #31560, respectively). Kids can enjoy their own unique Megazord to blast away evil! Collect them all! YAY..Motorcycles for hands!! SRP: $10.99

Power Rangers Zord Vehicle with Figure : Straight from the Power Rangers TV show comes this awesome Zord Vehicle to help battle against evil! The Zord Vehicle comes with a Ranger set in a battle pose ready to protect. The Zord Vehicle features its own unique feature to seek out and defeat villains. Collect any of the 4-inch Power Ranger figures (sold separately) and attach the figures onto the Zord Vehicle. Provide a powerful boost by collecting and combining the Zord Vehicle with multiple items in the ZordBuilder Collection (each sold separately): the Deluxe Megazord or Deluxe Vehicle (#31575 or #31560) and create your own personal Zord power! Or collect ALL the Zord Vehicles and Deluxe Megazords (each sold separately) and combine them together to create the Samurai BattleWing, Samurai Battle Cannon, or Samurai Gigazord! SRP: $14.99

Tiger Tank with Figure : Transform into tank, Zord and missile launch. Said missile shoots 6 feet! Comes with a Stealth Samurai Ranger 4 inch figure. SRP: $24.99

RC Megazord : A remote controlled robot that can walk down the hallways and beat off all the evil villains (~snicker~). His eyes light up and he has a motion detector so if you were to swing your arm, he would swing his arm as well! SRP: $39.99

ZordBuilder Collection : Historically, one of the most unique and compelling features of the Power Rangers line has been and continues to be, our ZordBuilder collection. Construction is an aggressively growing segment, but traditional construction sets can be so square. Bandai has fused action and construction to deliver a creative play-pattern that allows kids to build 18 show-accurate Zords and Megazords or an infinite number of their own Zord creations and extend the Power Ranger play experience.

A perfect example of the ZordBuilder collection is the Gigazord. As seen in the TV series the Gigazord is the ultimate Megazord, and can be created by combining 3 Deluxe Megazords (Bull, Claw and Samurai) and 4 Zords. That’s 40 individual pieces, combining together to create the Power Rangers strongest weapon.

Power Rangers Deluxe Megazord : When the iconic Megazords and Zords come together they form the Gigazord. This sleek take on the Rangers most powerful weapon has 3 creative ways to play:

Morph to Megazord mode
Morph to Space Ship mode
Morph with other items in the ZordBuilder Collection (sold separately) to build a unique Megazord or Zord!

The ZordBuilder Collection allows you to create your own hero and take your Deluxe Megazord to the ultimate level. The Megazord is a must have for both children and collectors for the past 20 years of Power Rangers history! SRP: $29.99

Bandai also offer a smaller scaled Gigazord for those that don't have an opportunity to collect all 7 pieces to form the massive ZordBuilder Gigazord. This piece is articulated for play and morphs into a space ship.

Ranger Masks : Sturdy masks with comfortable padding inside as not to squish your tender face bits. These come in Pink, Blue, Red, Green and Gold. SRP: $9.99

Power Rangers Deluxe Training Helmet : Morph into Red Ranger with the Power Ranger Deluxe Training Helmet. Includes messages from Red Ranger and the Super Samurai theme song! Wear the Power Rangers Deluxe Training Helmet in Mega mode to defeat the villains. Or gain even more power by morphing the Helmet from Mega mode into Ultimate Shogun mode with a quick conversion of the crown. This helmet is the perfect addition to all the Power Rangers gear! SRP: $29.99

Power Rangers Battle Gear : The Barracuda Blade features light up elements and a sheath that can attach and detach with the press of a button. The disk element is back and will be offered across the role play weapon lines, allowing your lil Ranger to power up before battle. SRP: $14.99 The Black Box Morpher (in stores now) which features swap out displays to communicate with the Rangers and phrases from the show. There is also a light feature on top, allowing you to write out your kanji symbol in the air and Morph into battle...or pretend to, depending on the limits of your crazy brains. The Deluxe Hand Gear comes in the Red Ranger's Mega Mode form and includes wrist bands with motion sensor technology that activates sounds when you karate chop your little sister. SRP: $24.99

Power Rangers Deluxe Battle Gear : Unleash the Power of the Super Samurai Ranger with the Bullzooka! Multiple battle sounds (activated by pulling the trigger or activating the super disk) allow kids to reenact their favorite action where good prevails over evil! This gear has distinctive morph features to replicate the morph sequences seen in the TV Series. Collect the Spin Sword and Black Box Morpher (each sold separately) to make this the Super Bullzooka. Or collect the Mega Blade sword (sold separately) to combine and create the ultimate Shogun Spear! SRP: $29.99 . They also had the Shogun Buckle (my favorite) on display that shifts modes with the addition of those disks. We asked if they give thought to those "larger children" (wink wink) who will want to rock the Shogun Buckle and were told it is for kids, so you're on your own in making this bad boy fit!

Ranger Training Set : Providing kids with all the gear they need in one pack. For instance, the Red Ranger set includes a helmet mask, Spin Sword, 3 different disks to power the spin sword up in different ways, the official Power Rangers badge, a PR belt and belt buckle to keep it all safely secured. For the Gold Ranger, you'd swap in the Gold mask and his signature Barracuda Blade.

We asked about more classic Power Rangers offerings; especially baddies like the recently released Rita Repulsa and were told there will be some surprises & exclusives for the 20th anniversary coming up. MEGA FANS TAKE NOTE!!

CLICK HERE to dive into a giant pile of Bandai Power Rangers toy pics!

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The NY Asian Film Festival Starts This Weekend!!

The New York Asian Film Festival is set to light the tiny island of Manhattan aflame with a hefty selection of mind blowing Asian films you won’t see anywhere else this June 25th to July 8th. I like to call it Film Geek Christmas. This year’s schedule is jam packed with insane offerings you won’t want to miss, so we’ve taken the liberty of pulling out our top picks for the horror inclined AKA, fans of the fucked up, grind house and blood splattering sort. Dive right in! Once you’ve spotted the films you want to catch, the full schedule can be found RIGHT HERE.



Alien VS Ninja - In medieval Japan, no one can hear you scream. And no one can prepare you for the arrival of a great, big, honking rubber alien who wants to party space-invader-style, which means tearing off heads and ripping out intestines. This sick extraterrestrial freak even wants to impregnate our species with its hideous jelloid babies. It is unstoppable. It is un-killable. It is unbeatable. But it’s not ninja-proof.



Blades of Blood - It’s a powerhouse team-up. Lee Joon-Ik, director of King & Clown, the top-grossing Korean movie of all time. Hwang Jung-Min, an actor who was originally told he was too ugly to be in movies, but who has gone on take home eight “Best Actor” awards in nine years. The result? A muscular swashbuckler about a blind swordsman trying to stop his friend from leading a bloody coup, it’s a classy epic full of ringing steel and nail-biting showdowns. Director Lee Joon-Ik will be at the screening!

Bodyguards & Assassins - Set in turn-of-the-century Hong Kong, B&A is an old school, all-star extravaganza the likes of which hasn’t been seen in decades. A ragtag bunch of volunteer bodyguards sign up to protect Dr. Sun Yat-Sen from assassination on his trip to Hong Kong. Chance of survival: low. Nominated for more Hong Kong Film Awards than any other movie in history, it broke the bank in Hong Kong and busted the box office wide open in China. More importantly, Donnie Yen fights a horse.

CHAW - Just when you thought it was safe to go back to eating pork, here comes Chaw. A bacon-flavored version of The Host, this flick is a riff on Jaws only with a giant killer pig instead of a giant killer shark and, probably, a lot more pot got smoked while the script was being written. If you’re looking for straight-up horror you won’t find it here, because this is far more like a black comedy from Joe Dante (Gremlins) than a serious monster movie from Steven Spielberg.

Death Kappa - the internet, cell phones, satellites. True. But also, the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra. Science, but also monsters. Progress, but also monsters. We can destroy the germs that cause bad breath, yes, but still: monsters. A double-barreled blast of 80’s VHS nostalgia, DEATH KAPPA is the ultimate in ridonkulous, lo-fi giant monster mayhem! The kappa is a frisky folk spirit but a fight with weaponized fishmen turns this kappa into a kaiju and soon Tokyo is nothing more than toe jam. Brought to you by an over-qualified cast and crew who really should know better, DEATH KAPPA is adorable and horrible, all at the same time.



Doman Seman - Imagine A Hard Day’s Night if it was about Aleister Crowley instead of the Beatles and you’ve got an idea of what director Go Shibata is up to in his hard-rocking occult film. Yakuza Magicians! Armies of psychic children! Zombie swarms in Kyoto! Hot Boys vs. the Homeless! The Human Enslavement Project! Doman Seman will kick down your doors of perception like a psychedelic SWAT team. Director Go Shibata will be at the screenings!

Kung Fu Chefs - Sammo Hung likes to do two things: cook food and kick ass. Fortunately for audiences, there’s finally a movie that lets him do both. Whether he’s butchering an entire pig in one chop, slicing ginger, cooking fish or beating up Bruce Leung, Sammo is right in his wheelhouse, dishing out kitchen tips and iron fists in equal measure. Made in China for about $1.95, Kung Fu Chefs is the kind of cracked exploitation classic that the Hong Kong film industry used to turn out in its sleep back in the early 90’s. Come hungry. Star Sammo Hung will be at the 10:15pm screening on Saturday, June 26!

Merantau - Indonesia’s first martial arts movie in fifteen years, this is a slab of B-movie genius rooted in the traditions of Indonesia’s martial art, the very spiritual style called silat. In Merantau, silat expert, Iko Uwais, leaves his family to go to the big city where he discovers a bunch of Eurotrash running a human trafficking ring. How does he handle it? By putting them in body casts, jumping off buildings and beating them with pipes. Merantau has come to New York to elevate your consciousness and kick your ass. Should you resist one, it will accept the other.

Mutant Girls Squad - At 2009’s New York Asian Film Festival, action choreographer and director Tak Sakaguchi (Be a Man! Samurai School), director and special-effects genius, Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police) and cherubic pervert, Noboru Iguchi (Robogeisha), got drunk and vowed to make a movie together. One year later, it’s here. A bizarre take on the X-Men, it comes at you fast and furious and if something crosses the line between good and bad taste, don’t worry: five minutes later you’ll see something new that makes the previous transgression seem downright quaint. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. Directors Noboru Iguchi and Yoshihiro Nishimura will be at the screening!



Raging Phoenix - Jeeja Yanin, Thailand’s only female action star, burst onto the scene with Chocolate and now she’s back! In Raging Phoenix she learns how to combine muay thai beatdowns with sick B-boy moves. Truly jaw-dropping, and completely weird (the plot centers on a gang of kidnappers who steal women for their scent) it’s full of high-impact kicks, lethal breakdancing and the discovery that the greatest martial art of all is “Drunken Muay Thai.” Come drunk, leave happy!

The Storm Warriors - This is the closest cinema has ever come to putting Chinese martial arts comic books, with all of their surreal techniques and freaky superpowers, on the big screen. From the very first frame the choirs are wailing like a death-metal concept album times infinity, and every shot is a blast-beat drum solo, every edit is a power chord and when the characters fight it’s like two planets smashing into one another. It’s a special-effects extravaganza where swords are so powerful they cut the weather in half and ultimate weapons are made from the spinal columns of dead gods. Actor Simon Yam will be at the Noon screening on Sunday, June 27!

Yatterman - Takashi Miike is Japan’s most outrageous director and this is his biggest box office hit of all time. A slyly hilarious send-up of kiddie show, Yatterman, it’s like a self-aware, satirical update of “Scooby-Doo” only with giant robots, leather-bondage-clad femme fatales and a pile of all the schoolgirls in Japan. Hilariously stupid, but insanely smart, it’s exactly the giant robot movie you thought Miike would make. Cool enough for the kids but messed up enough for their parents.

Street Fighter Legacy Short Film...FIGHT!!

Frosty over at Collider is a fan of all things geek, just as we are, and turned us on to a 3 minute film that, while a little silly (IMO), is still better than 90% of the animated and live action Street Fighter projects to date!



The main thing I can't get past it Ryu's size. The guy looks tiny and it throws me off. Also..eyebrows. Nuff said. Cinematography is beautiful and effects are top notch, so for three minutes out of your life, it is definitely worth it! Click the Collider link above for info on the project and two more "making of" vids.

Karate Kid Goes Full On Kung Fu

Not sure I'm up for this one. I'll be in "wait and see" mode.

Hit Girl Slices and Dices in Kick-Ass

Like me, you may have been thinking a movie about Super Heroes with no super powers and one in particular who gets his ass whooped is pretty lame...but Hit Girl is here to change all that. This clip is bloody, wrong in all the right ways and does it all to the tune of the Banana Splits theme song. WIN!!!

You must be 17+ to watch this clip. Clicking play verifies this.

KICK-ASS hits theaters April 16, 2010! http://kickass-themovie.com/

Full Frontal: Ninja Assassin

NINJAAAAAAAA!! The word alone brought a giant smile to my face as a child. Back in my day (aka: I’m old), you could go down to the local magazine shop and buy throwing stars, daggers and any number of ninja-tastic weapons. It was THAT big. Now, Warner Brothers is hoping we are so bored of remakes and romantic comedies that we’ll open our hearts to the unbridled carnage offered by a modern martial arts kill-fest. They were right.

The plot of Ninja Assassin couldn’t even fill out the side of a milk carton. Police researcher Mika has stumbled onto a connection between ancient tales of dark ninja deeds and a recent pay off to a clandestine organization preceding bloody mayhem. In the time it would take you to throw down a smoke bomb, the ninja are after her. Luckily, one of their brethren had cut ties with his clan and comes to her aid. Now it’s Mika and the renegade ninja Raizo against a never-ending tsunami of masked super assassins! If that alone hasn’t done it for you, you have absolutely no need to see this movie. Those of us sold merely on the words “ninja” and “carnage” are already lined up.

Martial Arts are the name of the game and Ninja Assassin plays it better than most. I haven’t seen jaw dropping moves like this in a very…very long time! Sure, a lot of it may be CGI and wire work, but doing all your own stunts doesn’t necessarily blow me out of my seat at all times. Remember “The Protector”? This was a love story between a man and his elephant and no amount of stunt work could save it. Assassin excels in believability amid the impossible. Throwing stars fly like bullets cutting through man, automobile and sometimes, it seems, even walls. The ninja sword hisses as it sails, uninterrupted, through flesh and bone, leaving a sticky wet pile in its wake. Standing defiantly is Raizo and his chained blade weapon which he wields like a fisher of men; lashing out and then pulling back a human skull. The ninja step out of flat shadow like vengeful spirits. They move in a streak and scale walls like hideous black spiders. There is no such thing as too much screen time for these warriors, and when they go toe to toe with Raizo, you are in for something special! Even John Rambo would hand over his headband to this guy. Just when you thought you were at the height of ninja glee, the movie tosses in one more element. A well armed special ops police force!! 200 swords vs 500,000 bullets. FIGHT!!!

While it’s clear why people will come see this film, it is still worth mentioning that the acting performances are very impressive. Ninja Assassin COULD have been an oddly dubbed, overly dramatic, badly acted Hong Kong special, but it sheds all pre-conceived notions and goes for broke. Mika ACTUALLY appears to be scared out of her mind for most of the film. Rain might single handedly spark resurgence in kung fu films! It’s funny, because he embodies everything I usually trash in films. He’s a pop star pretty boy, doesn’t make many facial expressions and spends 90% of the film with his shirt off!! You know what…I didn’t care. He was the right man for the job and pulled it off fantastically. Weather that is testament to the stunt men or fight choreographers or cinematographer...hell...give them all gold stars. It all comes together on screen in the most mind blowing fight scenes I’ve seen in years. For the old-schoolers like me, you’ve even got Sho Kosugi as the leader of the ninja clan. PERFECTION!

Only two elements keep Ninja Assasin from attaining the EPIC status. One is a thorn in the side of most horror fiends reading this. CGI BLOOD! CGI blood is still at least a couple of years away from looking flawless, and with so much of it splashing across the set of this film, it is painfully obvious. The second flaw lies in the ninja themselves. The film kicks off with the clan shrouded in mystery, fading in and out of shadow, cutting men to pieces. Next, we have to sit through the origin story of Raizo and his clan, which is fine when you get to watch 9 year olds beating each other bloody. It’s like baby fight club. When we get back to the ninja action, the warriors are more man than wraith and even do this sort of Jason Voorhees whisper as they approach a target. NOT creepy at all. It’s a problem as old as movies are as an art form. Keep your monster in the shadows as much as possible and you can raise the tension significantly. Put them in the light and give them a cheesy gimmick and you are treading on dangerous ground. Luckily, the film is still packed with bad ass, including a fight scene which takes place IN heavy traffic and all our WAR in the film’s final scenes. You can either look at this as a live action film with anime pacing and cartoony blood…or the most realistic anime anyone has ever made. If this were an animated film, with all that action jammed into it, you’d be clapping every 15 minutes.

Ninja Assassin is the kick in the ass we’ve needed in the theater, and a shockingly welcome bloodbath amid this holiday season! If you were a fan of martial arts films growing up, get out to your local theater as soon as possible and feel like a kid again. The men in black are back…and I can’t wait for more!