If you love martial arts, but haven’t gotten a chance to see Merantau yet, today is a day to rejoice. December 28th will also be a day to rejoice, because that’s the day that Magnolia will release the film on Blu-ray and DVD for consumption in your very own home. Merantau is a shining example of what an action film can be. The fight choreography is world class, and there’s an actual story and character development to keep things fresh when fists aren’t flying (which isn’t often). Read my review to get even more excited and mark your calendars. [Kung Fu Cinema]

This martial arts flick coming out of Indonesia is, wait for it, far better than Ong Bak. Let that sink in, and then let me explain why inside.

Luckily we had a list of the winners sent to us because we didn’t remember all the names. Or where our pants went.

An orphan named Raizo, raised and trained by an ancient ninja clan, cuts a bunch of heads off while an investigator from Europol, Mika tracks down the group in connection with several high-ranking assassinations.

This adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker contains a compelling concept that deserved better treatment.

A couple of clumsy hitmen for hire get tangled in a drug smuggling operation with multiple parties all working against each other. Also, a balding guy with an energy drink company has a ton of guys dressed up as superman. Because it makes sense that way.

After attending a writing camp, Benjamin hopes that his science fiction novella will win the top prize being judged on by his idol Ronald Chevaliar, but the pompous has-been ends up plagiarizing it and earning a best-seller.

In 2012, with a meteor going to destroy Earth, three men spend the afternoon inside a record store listening to an obscure band. As the band’s story is told, it shows how their song might save the planet from the oncoming apocalypse.

Bob Wilton is having a mid-life crisis of the marital strife brand so he sets out to prove himself as a journalist by leaving his small desk at the local newspaper and heading for Iraq. There, he runs into Lyn Cassady a man claiming to have been trained as a psychic spy by the U.S. military.

For the first time on video, you can see with your own eyes as I wander around a parking lot and sit around in a bowling alley with a director who has the skills to become the next major franchise helmer.

One of Fantastic Fest’s best surprises has US distribution and a release date.

Paranormal Activity follows the Hitchcock 101 school of filmmaking like it’s scripture: show as little as possible and let audience imagination fill in the rest. It’s a rule most horror films could implement a bit more, and it works in this film to an astoundingly effective degree.

You asked for us to be canceled, but apparently your appeals to your school board commissioner fell on deaf ears because we’re forging ahead and diving deep into the hellish chaos of Fantastic Fest by broadcasting from its epicenter.

We’ve been training all our lives for this, and it’s finally here. Fantastic Fest 2009 promises to remove our eyeballs, pour blood, sex and ninja moves all over them and then shove them right back in our face. These are the 20 films that have us most excited about that upcoming amateur surgical procedure.

Gentleman Broncos! Journey to Saturn! Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl! Trick ‘r Treat! A fantastic line up for a Fantastic Fest.