Indiana Jones: Off The Beaten Path: An Unofficial Expedition
Written by George Beahm
Illustrations by Tim Kirk
Foreword by Eric H. Cline
Hampton Roads Publishing Company
Release date: April 18, 2008

With the imminent release of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, a whole new crop of merchandise has bloomed to take advantage of the excitement and renewed interest in our favorite archaeologist-adventurer. One of these is George Beahm‘s new book Indiana Jones: Off The Beaten Path, which is an “unofficial expedition” of the universe Indiana lives in. Beahm’s book focuses on where facts end and fiction begins as he explores each of the first three films in depth, and briefly touches on the newest adventure. This fact versus fiction thesis statement is nicely summarized in the foreword by archaeologist Eric H Cline, who is a huge fan of Jones, and appreciates what the character has done in raising interest in the field of archaeology.

TKO (2007)
Directed by Declan Mulvey
Written by Christopher Curran, Joe Miale, Declan Mulvey
Produced by Declan Mulvey, Taylor Phillips, Anisa Qureshi
Starring Andre McCoy, Daz Crawford, Anthony Ray Parker, Paul Green, Samantha Alarcon, Vishnu Seesahai
Lionsgate
Release date: May 13, 2008

Each year, an unlicensed fight tournament is held in the basement of a criminal syndicate’s high-rise office building. But this year the stakes are higher as Mick and Martin, the two men responsible for finding the fighters and one time rivals in the ring, are forced by their boss to put a personal wage on the match. Each man is to pick a fighter, and the loser must walk away from the organization forever. Martin, a crooked cop with an even more crooked crew, “borrows” a psychotic killer from a local holding cell as his man, while Mick searches high and low through the local rings for someone he can believe in.

Meanwhile, a lone figure has returned from his mountain retreat to once again fight in the ring. Zendo, the self-anointed warrior priest, is out to avenge the death of his brother, and claim back a title that should have been his to begin with. As fight time closes in, so too does Zendo come closer to the truth about his murdered brother. And while Mick is coming to grips with the fact that maybe he’s being played as a heel, Martin has set up a double-cross to ensure his fighter wins the competition!

Flash Point
Directed by Wilson Yip
Action Directed by Donnie Yen
Written by Szeto Kam-Yuen
Starring Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou, Ray Lui, Kent Cheng, Fan Bing Bing
Distributed by Dragon Dynasty
Release date: April 22, 2008

Undercover officer Wilson is in deep with a trio of vicious Vietnamese gangsters who work out of Hong Kong smuggling drugs across the sea. Wilson’s partner, Ma (Donnie Yen), is a tough-as-nails cop who doesn’t hesitate to pick a fight when it comes time to bringing down the criminals. When the final bust goes down, Wilson’s identity is discovered, and he is soon targeted for assassination so that he cannot testify. When he survives the attack, Wilson’s girlfriend is kidnapped and held as ransom so that he won’t testify. Wilson buckles to their demands, and the case is thrown out due to lack evidence. But Ma isn’t going to let them walk away so easily and heads out into the streets knowing that one way or another justice will prevail!

Director Wilson Yip once again reunites with Donnie Yen and Louis Koo for another dish of crime drama and frenzied street fighting, and brings along master martial artist Collin Chou to match Yen’s bone-crunching skills. Yip, who has been pumping out a variety of genre pictures in Hong Kong since the mid-’90s, creates another successful notch on his belt with a film Hong Kong enthusiasts can get behind. Much like 2005’s Sha Po Lang (aka Killzone), he pours on the grime and grit from the alleys that are best avoided after dark, and digs in deep with righteous themes and heroism that are the life source for Hong Kong cop movies.

Prom Night (1980)
Directed by Paul Lynch
Written by William Gray
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielson, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Michael Tough

While playing a diabolical game of hide and seek in an abandon building, four friends are joined by another pre-teen, Robin. When the four decide to gang up on the poor girl to scare her, she accidentally falls to her death. The four make a pact never to tell anyone about the accident. Now six years later, on the anniversary of Robin’s death which happens to coincide with the high school prom night, these four friends are marked for death. As the lights in the gym fade and the disco beats start pumping, an axe-wielding masked killer is stalking the halls looking to finally give Robin her justice. But just who is behind the mask? An escaped mental patient that was blamed for Robin’s death? Robin’s father and principal of the school? Robin’s older sister Kim? Or even the school bully? When the spotlight is put on Kim to receive her crown as prom queen, everyone is going to find out!

The Magic Blade (1976)
Directed by Chu Yuan
Produced by Runme Shaw
Starring Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Ching Li, Tanny Tien Ni, Lily Li, Ku Feng, Norman Chu
Image Entertainment
Release Date: March 11, 2008

Master swordsmen Fu and Yen must put aside their rivalry when the mysterious underworld figure Lord Yu begins sending a never-ending barrage of assassins and henchmen to kill the pair. Fu and Yen discover that Yu wants to have complete control over the swordplay world, and in order to do so must dispatch of the pair and then obtain the mythical and deadly Peacock Dart. Without a moment to lose, Fu and Yen team up and ride off into the night to get to the Peacock Dart first.

Their travels lead them through the lawless villages and roads of China, with assassination attempts coming at them left and right from a host of colorful killers. When Fu becomes separated from Yen, he must travel the final legs of the perilous journey to the Tien Wai Mansion alone. There, Fu is tempted with the most decadent of foods and women as a gift to enjoy on his last night on Earth, before facing off against five perfect killers and Yu himself!

Coming out of the incredible movie production powerhouse Shaw Brothers Studios, director Chu Yuan brings together the martial arts and charismatic prowess of Ti Lung as Fu and Lo Lieh as Yen in this lesser-known kung fu flick that is entertaining as all hell. Like the best martial arts movies, the simple plot is merely a trail of breadcrumbs to follow from one action sequence to the next, and like the best of the Shaw Brothers period films, this one too is adapted from a book by Ku Lung.