Momentum Pictures has dropped a new international trailer for Safe (not to be confused with Safe House). This one, directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans, Uptown Girls), stars Jason Statham as Luke Wright, ex-NYC cop  now an second-rate cage fighter, who has undertaken to keep a twelve year old girl safe from Chinese Triads and the Russian mob. The girl just happens to be a math prodigy, an orphan, whom the Chinese have been using to run numbers and crack codes.

The official Lionsgate synopsis (which oddly enough is quite spoiler-y):

"Mei (Catherine Chan) is a 10 year-old Chinese math prodigy who is abducted from her home in Nanjing by the Triads; she is sent to Americaby the Triad Leader Han Jiao (James Hong), where she will serve as a “counter” for their extortion racquets. No computers, no paper trails – she keeps all the numbers in her head. One year later, Mei’s new adopted “father” Chang (Reggie Lee) brings her along to count the numbers as he shakes-down his business operations.

Luke Wright (Jason Statham) is a second rate cage fighter in the mixed martial arts circuit in New Jersey. When he blows a rigged fight, the Russian mafia make an example of him – murdering his wife and threatening to kill anyone he forms any kind of friendship or relationship with. Now homeless, destitute and completely isolated from society, Luke wanders the streets of New York like a ghost, hovering on the edge of suicide.

Big things begin to stir in the city, when Triad boss Han Jiao appears in New York, and gives Mei a secret number to memorize; on her way to use this number for an unknown purpose, Mei is violently kidnapped from the Triads by the Russian Mafia, who want the information she now has in her head— as does the corrupt Captain Wolf (Robert John Burke) of the NYPD. Mei manages to escape, but she won’t be able to survive on her own for long.

Standing on a subway platform ready to throw himself under a train, Luke Wright sees the young and terrified Chinese girl being pursued by Russian thugs… he knows something is wrong, and he knows now he has to make a decision: continue on his downward spiral, or come back fighting in order to help a little girl he’s never even met. Luke comes back to life, forcing himself into violent action, and over the course of one harrowing night he tears a swath through the city’s underworld in order to save Mei’s life and redeem his own."

The trailer doesn’t give us much more information than the domestic one did, but you know me, I don’t care. It’s Jason Statham and his manly-muscled head being all manly and muscle-y. This actually looks better than Mercury Rising, the Alec Baldwin/Bruce Willis vehicle that this resembles in a lot of ways. The supporting cast is good, including Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, James Hong and Anson Mount.  

Pushed back from last fall, Safe opens April 27 in the US and 4^th May in the UK. Take a look at the trailer (courtesy of RopeofSilicon).

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It's Saturday and what better way to celebrate than to gawk at pics of Jason Statham? He was in West Hollywood yesterday having lunch with a friend and donning some corduroy pants, white shirt and sunglasses looking cooler than cool.

He really hates having his picture taken but he just needs to suck it up because those of us who lust after him will take what we can get. Even with those killer stares he gives the paparazzi.

Feast your eyes on the photos if you can handle it.

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Photos: Michael Wright/WENN

Last month we brought you a brand new poster from Boaz Yakin’s Safe featuring the manly muscled head of Jason Statham giving us the death glare and daring us to piss him off, while wielding a very big gun and now there are a few new testosterone-infused stills for your viewing pleasure.

The official Lionsgate synopsis:

"Mei (Catherine Chan) is a 10 year-old Chinese math prodigy who is abducted from her home in Nanjing by the Triads; she is sent to America by the Triad Leader Han Jiao (James Hong), where she will serve as a “counter” for their extortion racquets. No computers, no paper trails – she keeps all the numbers in her head. One year later, Mei’s new adopted “father” Chang (Reggie Lee) brings her along to count the numbers as he shakes-down his business operations.

Luke Wright (Jason Statham) is a second rate cage fighter in the mixed martial arts circuit in New Jersey. When he blows a rigged fight, the Russian mafia make an example of him – murdering his wife and threatening to kill anyone he forms any kind of friendship or relationship with. Now homeless, destitute and completely isolated from society, Luke wanders the streets of New York like a ghost, hovering on the edge of suicide.

Big things begin to stir in the city, when Triad boss Han Jiao appears in New York, and gives Mei a secret number to memorize; on her way to use this number for an unknown purpose, Mei is violently kidnapped from the Triads by the Russian Mafia, who want the information she now has in her head— as does the corrupt Captain Wolf (Robert John Burke) of the NYPD. Mei manages to escape, but she won’t be able to survive on her own for long.

Standing on a subway platform ready to throw himself under a train, Luke Wright sees the young and terrified Chinese girl being pursued by Russian thugs… he knows something is wrong, and he knows now he has to make a decision: continue on his downward spiral, or come back fighting in order to help a little girl he’s never even met. Luke comes back to life, forcing himself into violent action, and over the course of one harrowing night he tears a swath through the city’s underworld in order to save Mei’s life and redeem his own." 

I’m all in for this one, even if I am a bit confused. Was he a cage fighter before or after he was a former “elite agent” (as imdb is describing him). I don’t care. He could be playing Captain Kangaroo as long he does it in a typically menacing, Jason Statham kind of way. When I buy a ticket to a Statham film I know what I’m getting and I like it. In the photo at the top of the page, we even get a little bit of Statham’s soft side. See, he’s supposed to be protecting that little girl. Chicks dig that. The fact that he’s doing by bustin’ heads, kicking asses and waving around his big gun…a lot of chicks dig that too. (Okay, this one does.) Guys like it too. Something for everyone.

Safe also stars Reggie Lee, James Hong and Chris Sarandon and opens April 27 in the US and 4^th May in the UK.

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source for MTV pics

This time it's personal: In The Expendables 2, Mr. Church (Bruce Willis- who seems to be the current ‘go to’ guy when an aging action hero is required. I say that even though The Expendables 2 is full of aging action heroes. Willis also has Red and GI Joe: Retaliation on his recent resume)  reunites Barney Ross (Stallone) and the rest of the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of his men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.

The Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time – six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….

But really…do we care what it’s about? Are we looking for plot intricacies and character nuance from this band of lean, mean fighting machines? As long as they’re prepared to kick ass, take names and blow some sh*t up, I could not care less. Throw in a couple of gratuitious shots of Jason Statham and they really don’t even have to talk. Perhaps these master thespians could take a cue from The Artist?

Led once again by Stallone’s Barney Ross, Statham’s Lee Christmas and anyone who didn’t die in the first one, the crew includes Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (who’s really hoping this will make you forget he’s a classless scumbag and has had his role expanded) who are joined by Chuck Norris, whose invitation to the last gig must have gotten lost in the mail, or he was on his Total Gym and couldn’t get up to answer the phone. How the hell did Jean Claude Van Damme miss out on the opportunity to do some ‘van-damage’ (sorry, I had to) last time out? Liam Hemsworth, fresh from the Hunger Games joins the party, but he’s not on the poster. His character is Bill “The Kid” Timmins. So it’s not Ross, but something tells me he’ll turn out to be Barney’s long lost son. As I said before, could be worse. Could be Taylor Lautner. In any case, the rest of the cast includes Terry Crewes, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren and Charisma Carpenter (So I guess Lacy forgave Lee? Or does she get kidnapped or tied to the railroad tracks?)

Check out the new pics below. There’s a bloody Scott Adkins, a bald and brooding Van Damme and Lundgren with a very big knife and a bad attitude. then check out the comic promo art from the film's Facebook page.

Directed by Simon West (Con Air, The Mechanic), The Expendables 2 opens August 17 in the US and the UK.

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A new poster has dropped for Safe, the Boaz Yakin directed Jason Statham action-adventure remake of Mercury Rising…no not really. It just seems like it. Now ask me if I care…it’s The Stath being all Stath-y! I know exactly what I’ll be buying a ticket for and it won’t be plot nuance or character development. It’ll be that big gun…

The official Lionsgate synopsis:

"Mei (Catherine Chan) is a 10 year-old Chinese math prodigy who is abducted from her home in Nanjing by the Triads; she is sent to America by the Triad Leader Han Jiao (James Hong), where she will serve as a “counter” for their extortion racquets. No computers, no paper trails – she keeps all the numbers in her head. One year later, Mei’s new adopted “father” Chang (Reggie Lee) brings her along to count the numbers as he shakes-down his business operations.

Luke Wright (Jason Statham) is a second rate cage fighter in the mixed martial arts circuit in New Jersey. When he blows a rigged fight, the Russian mafia make an example of him – murdering his wife and threatening to kill anyone he forms any kind of friendship or relationship with. Now homeless, destitute and completely isolated from society, Luke wanders the streets of New York like a ghost, hovering on the edge of suicide.

Big things begin to stir in the city, when Triad boss Han Jiao appears in New York, and gives Mei a secret number to memorize; on her way to use this number for an unknown purpose, Mei is violently kidnapped from the Triads by the Russian Mafia, who want the information she now has in her head— as does the corrupt Captain Wolf (Robert John Burke) of the NYPD. Mei manages to escape, but she won’t be able to survive on her own for long.

Standing on a subway platform ready to throw himself under a train, Luke Wright sees the young and terrified Chinese girl being pursued by Russian thugs… he knows something is wrong, and he knows now he has to make a decision: continue on his downward spiral, or come back fighting in order to help a little girl he’s never even met. Luke comes back to life, forcing himself into violent action, and over the course of one harrowing night he tears a swath through the city’s underworld in order to save Mei’s life and redeem his own." 

Well! That sounds like fun! (Seriously, there are so many triggers in those paragraphs I don't know where to start…)

And…as if I needed another reason to look forward to Safe, Anson Mount, aka Cullen Bohannon, is in the thing! I’m sure I read that long ago, but as he wasn’t actually on my radar until AMC’s Hell on Wheels, it didn’t register.

By the way, Lionsgate has very sneakily moved the release date back yet again. Originally scheduled for October 2011, it was moved to March 2nd because Lionsgate's fall slated was "packed". Well, with no fanfare they've moved Safe to April 27 in the US and 11th May in the UK.

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poster at Collider

Numbers are limited but there are a couple of heavy hitters in the lineup this week. (A couple of baseball metaphors, get it?) The biggest among them is of course, Bennett Miller’s Moneyball starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. While I wasn’t as blown away by this story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players as the critics have been, it is very entertaining. I'm a huge baseball fan and it's great fun to get a peak at the inner workings of the sport and what appear to an outsider as arbitrary decisions, especially since I remember some of the incidents portrayed in the film.  Moneyball has been nominated for 3 Golden Globes and it’s being billed as one of Brad Pitt’s greatest performances. I suppose that’s true and I will say that it is one of the few times I was able to forget I was watching Brad Pitt, world's sexiest DILF, and get into the character. I also have to say that I liked Jonah Hill’s performance because it was understated and unexpected. This is a very different Jonah Hill than you’re probably used to seeing.

I am, an unabashed Philip Seymour Hoffman fan. One of the reasons Hoffman is always so interesting to watch is that he always seems a powder keg just one spark away from blowing. One never knows whether to take his character at face value or not.

Here Hoffman is directed by his Capote director who guided him to a Best Actor Oscar. The words are by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Both pluses.

If sports films aren’t your thing, then don’t worry because the action thriller The Killer Elite (Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert DeNiro) which we told you about last week, will also be available.

I suppose I should also let you know that the romantic comedy What’s Your Number? with Anna Faris, Chris Evans, and Ed Begly, Jr. is also out today. What you do with this information is up to you.

There are some direct to video titles out this week as well. Again, watch at your own peril. I can’t be held responsible for anything. Actually, I’m exaggerating. There are a couple of titles that may not have gotten a lot of attention, but are worth your time. You decide.

 -Scorpion King: Battle for Redemption (Billy Zane, Victor Webster, and Ron Perlman) Since his rise to power, Mathayus' kingdom has fallen. Now an assassin for hire, he must defend a kingdom from an evil tyrant and his ghost warriors for the chance to regain the power and glory he once knew.

-Higher Ground (Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, and Dagmara Dominczyk ) Actually, this one I do recommend. It played a number of festivals to great acclaim and had an extremely limited run back in August. Not unusual for a small art-house film. Farmiga made her directorial debut with this story of the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir “This Dark World”, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust – in human relationships as well as in God.

-There Be Dragons (Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott, and Charlie Cox) We told you about this one last summer after it played the Cannes Film Festival and I fully expected to see this story, billed as an epic portrayal of faith, forgiveness and redemption, in theaters. The synopsis: Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.

It’s got a great pedigree. Along with Bentley, Scott and Cox, the film stars Olga Kurylenko, Rodrigo Santoro and Geraldine Chaplin. It was written, directed and produced by Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, The Mission).

-An Idiot Abroad (Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington, and Stephen Merchant) A boxed set of the UK television series.

-Saints and Sinners (Sean Patrick Flannery and Tom Berenger) In the gritty New Orleans underbelly, beleaguered Detective Sean Riley (Johnny Strong – Black Hawk Down, The Fast and the Furious) is trying to cope with the death of his young son and his failed marriage. Facing a probable suspension from the department, Riley is teamed with a young homicide Detective, Will Ganz (Flannery), to help solve a series of brutal murders that have plunged the city into a major gang war. The two quickly realize there is something much bigger and far more sinister going on than either could have ever imagined.

There, now you have something to do over the weekend. (A long one for most of us here in the States.)