Marvel Studios will be releasing “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” on September 3, and there have already been early parallels made between the upcoming Asian-American superhero project starring Simu Liu to Ryan Coogler‘s landmark billion-dollar hit “Black Panther.” The studio has been increasingly studio pushing forward with high-budgeted blockbusters made by a group of diverse creatives like director Destin Daniel Cretton.

Continue reading ‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton Says Action Scenes Were Inspired By Jackie Chan Movies & Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ at The Playlist.

Believe it or not, it’s been 20 years since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” arrived in theaters. The film would go on to be nominated for 10 Oscars in 2001 (a record for a non-English-language film at the time), and it would end up taking home trophies for won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. And now, two decades after its premiere, director Ang Lee reminisces about his iconic martial arts drama.

Continue reading Ang Lee Talks Difficulties “Upgrading A B-Movie” While Making ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ at The Playlist.

After premiering his recent, polarizing “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” at the New York Film Festival a few days ago, director Ang Lee was still in New York City, on hand for a special screening of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” which is being released on 4K Ultra HD and will receive a limited edition release on Blu-ray. These are both epic formats suitable for the 120-minute film and its stunning landscapes of revenge, love and the art of Wudang —it remains the highest grossing foreign language film in American history.

Continue reading Ang Lee, James Schamus & Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker Reminisce About ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ at The Playlist.

One of the most iconic stars of action cinema this century returns to the big screen this week, as Matt Damon gets back in his old shoes as Jason Bourne in, well, “Jason Bourne,” his fourth time playing the forgetful super-spy since 2002’s “The Bourne Identity.” And few action stars are as important to the genre as Damon and his creation.

As we entered the new millennium, action movies were still in the Bruckheimer years, a time of endless “Die Hard” rip-offs, where aging muscleheads were continuing to crank out movies to increasingly diminishing returns.

Continue reading The 50 Best Action Movies Of The 21st Century So Far at The Playlist.