The Raid 2 | Geekscape

‘The Raid’ Stars Will Kick Ass in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’!

by Eric FranciscoJanuary 5, 2015

I thought Scarlett Johansson kicking more ass was enough cool news of the day. Now, according to Twitchfilm, more asses shall be kicked! This time by actual ass-kickers Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, and Cecep Arif Rahman. You don’t know those names but you know their ass-kicking well, because they kicked tons of ass in Gareth Evans’ The Raid and The Raid 2. This is so kick-ass!

From Twitchfilm:

It would appear that the force is set to awaken in Indonesia.

Though there has been no comment whatsoever from any of the performers or their representation, Twitch has learned that a key trio of performers from Gareth Evans’ The Raid and The Raid 2 – leading man Iko Uwais, Mad Dog / Prakoso actor Yayan Ruhian and The Raid 2 finale fighter Cecep Arif Rahman, credited simply as The Assassin – will all appear in JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens.

I can’t contain my excitement for this. There is one redeeming part of The Phantom Menace and in my opinion it was Ray Park as Darth Maul introducing proper martial arts to this huge universe. Now it seems everyone will actually be kung-fu fighting (OK, silat, but let me have my aged pop culture references).

Just imagine this fight for a second, okay? Hardcore, brutal penchak silat mixed with sci-fi mysticism. The way they handle the kris and kujang are a gory spectacle, but now picture it with force pushing, lightning bolts, big-ass giant force leaps, and LIGHTSABERS with PENCHAK SILAT.

Holy shit, you guys.

But aside from the martial arts? There was a big, noisy hoopla over John Boyega as a black Storm Trooper or whatever nonsense some dumb people came up with. Considering that in all six previous Star Wars films there were just two black people in a predominant role, I thought it was totally amazing the first thing we see of Star Wars was Boyega’s sweaty mug. And then people had to say a bunch of dumb things. (But I absolutely loved how Boyega responded.) But now, it seems the ever-expanding cast of this much-hyped movie is truly reflecting our diverse world. For all the Asian influences Star Wars modeled itself from, there was a severe lack of any Asian faces, even in this galaxy far, far away. Imagine how slightly different our cultural perceptions would be if Seven Samurai star Toshiro Mifune had accepted the role of Obi-Wan like George Lucas had wanted.

It is currently unknown what roles Uwais, Ruhian, and Rahman will be playing, and from the looks of it they probably won’t even be speaking roles at all. Based on their skills and how they were announced, I imagine they’ll be playing raiders or assassins of some sort, they will have the spotlight for a big martial arts set piece and vanish afterwards. They weren’t introduced in the initial casting announcements, and principal photography is already finished. I reiterate I’m only speculating, for all we know Iko Uwais is playing Luke Skywalker’s son! (Haha, JK, but seriously could you imagine?) Their roles may be small but in the realm of our pop culture headspace? Their roles are going to be huge.

I’m seriously about to pop in The Raid and The Raid 2 again because that’s how stoked I am about this news.

In Case You Missed It – July 2014

by MCDaveJuly 16, 2014

July has officially arrived and we’re entrenched in the dog days of summer. And as far as the DVD prospects landing on shelves this month, there aren’t any groundbreaking titles like I mentioned June, but there are definitely a few enjoyable selections. Here are the top three DVD releases for the month of July:

#1. Cuban Fury

Although leading star Nick Frost’s re-tweet of my review immediately boosted Cuban Fury to the most visited post of the year on my site, I give you my word that there is no bias to this selection. Cuban Fury is a legitimate laugh out loud comedy backed by stellar performances and a hilariously penned screenplay. After the arrival of their attractive new female boss (played by Rashida Jones), co-workers Bruce (Frost) and the overly confident Drew (Chris O’Dowd) compete for her affection through salsa dancing. With affable characters and a breakthrough supporting turn from Kayvan Novak that spews non-stop hilarity, Cuban Fury is an entertaining comedy that begins and ends without a hiccup. (July 29th)

#2. Blue Ruin

Having missed an opportunity to catch Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin at the 2013 Philadelphia Film Festival, I pounced on the opportunity at Sundance in January. Macon Blair stars as Dwight, a homeless recluse who re-opens a dark past when he seeks vengeance on a recently paroled man. Gripping, tense and well-shot, Blue Ruin dishes out all the essential ingredients to a successful revenge movie. Elements of gore and violence are tastefully used throughout this well-paced and slow burning thriller. It surely isn’t a film intended for all types of audiences, but fans of the genre will consider Macon Blair’s fine performance and the entire feature as a welcome addition. (July 22nd)

#3. Noah

Please allow me to preface my recommendation by clearing up the fact that Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is a completely off-kilter and bizarre interpretation of the biblical tale. In many ways this story of Noah incorporates a surprising amount of fantasy reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It’s peculiar and odd as well as unique and imaginative. After a good-hearted and honest man named Noah (Russell Crowe) receives visions of a flood meant to destroy the evils of mankind, he and his family begin to build an ark in hopes of surviving the storm and preserving life on earth. I found the film to be a bit divisive and almost a combination of two separate movies. While the first half breeds a strange vision of the age-old story, the second half of the feature explores what happens after the flood, a captivating journey into the psyche of these few survivors. Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is worth a try if you’re open to an unpredictable twist on the well-known biblical tale. (July 29th)

Honorable Mention: Other titles arriving to DVD this month include a few that I haven’t seen but look forward to viewing, such as Jonathan Glazer’s sci-fi mystery Under the Skin (7/15) starring Scarlett Johansson, Richard Shepard’s crime comedy Dom Hemingway (7/22) starring Jude Law, and even the critically panned directorial debut from Wally Pfister Transcendence (7/22) with Johnny Depp. Action junkies will be thrilled to hear that The Raid 2 hits shelves on 7/8, and a few mediocre titles that were enjoyed by others include Jason Bateman’s spelling bee comedy Bad Words (7/8) and the chick-flick The Other Woman (7/29) with Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann.

‘The Raid 2’ Begins Production, Check Out The First Set Photos!

by Derek KraneveldtJanuary 31, 2013

Do you remember how awesome The Raid was? We sure hope you’ve seen it, as it was one of the best action films of 2012 (and even made it onto Jonathan’s 10 Most Enjoyable Movies Of The Year list).

Did you know that a sequel was in the works? If not, you do now! The Raid 2 started production today in Indonesia, where principal photography will last a whopping 100 days!

A lengthy press release accompanied the announcement. Included was a short plot synopsis and an intriguing batch of photos from the first day of shooting. The Raid 2 won’t hit theatres until sometime next year, but I’m already excited!

Picking up right where the first film ends, The Raid 2 follows Rama (Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force.

Excited? For those who really like words, the entire press release can be read below.

Los Angeles, CA (January 31, 2013) – PT Merantau Films and XYZ Films announce the start of production for THE RAID 2 (Indonesian title, THE RAID 2: BERANDAL), the sequel to the wildly popular international hit THE RAID (aka THE RAID: REDEMPTION). The film reunites writer/director Gareth Huw Evans with actor Iko Uwais, who will be reprising his starring role. Ario Sagantoro is producing for PT Merantau Films, along with Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, Aram Tertzakian and Todd Brown for XYZ Films. Executive producing are Rangga Maya Barack-Evans and Irwan D. Mussry.

In addition to Uwais, the international cast includes Tio Pakusadewo, Putra Arifin Scheunamann, Julie Estelle, Alex Abbad and Roy Marten. The film is currently lensing in Jakarta, Indonesia and is scheduled to shoot for over 100 days. Line producing the film is Daiwanne Ralie, with Matthew Flannery and Dimas Imam Subhono serving as directors of photography.

Picking up right where the first film ends, The Raid 2 follows Rama (Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force.

The Raid premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, where it took home the Audience Award in the Midnight Madness section. It went on to play at Sundance and SXSW, before enjoying a theatrical release in the United States through Sony Pictures Classics. The film is approaching $15M in global box office.

XYZ and PT Mereantau Films are also in post-production on KILLERS, which is co-directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, with Gareth Huw Evans and Rangga Maya Barack-Evans executive producing . Evans and Tjahjanto recently collaborated on SAFE HAVEN, a celebrated segment in the horror anthology film S-VHS, which just premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

XYZ Films recently premiered Calvin Lee Reeder’s THE RAMBLER at Sundance as well.

“We’re incredibly excited to start the next chapter of The Raid story,” said XYZ Films. “Gareth introduced a rich and fertile world in the first film, and we’re eager to see him expand on that vision with Berandal.”

“To all our fans thank you so much for your support. We can’t wait to come back and show you what we have been working on,” said writer/director Gareth Evans. “We’ll be there in 2014 with a film bigger, better and bloodier! Wish us luck.”

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) acquired the film for the United States, Spain, Latin America and South Africa, and Sony Pictures Classics will once again release the film theatrically in the United States.

About PT Merantau Films:

Based in Jakarta, Indonesia Merantau Films was founded in 2008 by Rangga Maya Barack-Evans and Gareth H Evans. The company was established as a film production company with a view to produce feature films for local and international audiences, with a particular interest to revive Indonesian action genre especially by showcasing Pencak silat (traditional Indonesian martial arts) techniques as action choreography style in its many productions. In 2008 the company produced its debut feature, an action drama titled MERANTAU (Merantau Warrior) which was successfully released in 2009 locally and internationally (US, UK, France, Japan and many more territories). MERANTAU – written, directed, and edited by Gareth H Evans received several distinguished awards such as Audience Award, Honorable Mention, at Fantastic Fest 2009 and Best Film at Action Fest 2010. Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian – professional pencak silat athletes joined the company in 2008 as in house action choreographers and actors. While Uwais played the leading male role as YUDHA, Ruhian played as one of the supporting role as ERIK.

At the end of 2010 Evans completed his next feature script THE RAID (THE RAID:REDEMPTION) starring Uwais, Ruhian , Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah. The production began in early 2011 and was completed by the end of the year. THE RAID’s world premiere was held at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival and received the Midnight Madness Award at the festival after its successful premiere. THE RAID also received Dublin Film Critics Circle Best Film and Audience Award at Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (JDIFF) 2012[37] Sp!ts Silver Scream Award at Imagine Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2012 .

The original score was executed by Aria Prayogi and Fajar Yuskemal for Indonesian release while the international score version was composed by Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) and Joe Trapanese. THE RAID gained strong worldwide distribution, including Sony Pictures for US, Latin America and Spain, Momentum Pictures in UK, Alliance in Canada , and Kadokawa Pictures in Japan. The company is currently producing THE RAID 2 (Indonesian title, BERANDAL), a sequel to THE RAID (THE RAID REDEMPTION). The film is due to be completed by end of 2013 for of a 2014 release.

About XYZ Films

XYZ FILMS is an LA-based film production and sales company founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian. XYZ is a leader in the global film space, with a particular focus on elevated genre films with broad international appeal. A recent example of XYZ’s model is Gareth Evans’ sub $1M Indonesian action film, THE RAID, for which XYZ acted as Executive Producers and Worldwide Sales Agents. The film is approaching $15M in global box office, after premiering at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival (where it won the audience award for TIFF’s Midnight Madness section). The film also went on to play at Sundance and SXSW, before enjoying a US release by Sony Pictures Classics. XYZ and Evans’ PT Merantau Films are currently in pre-production on a sequel to THE RAID, in development on a remake of THE RAID at Sony Screen Gems, and in development on a heist thriller which Evans will direct for Universal. Other recent XYZ productions include the recently wrapped FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY, which was directed by Dutch filmmaker Richard Raaphorst and shot in Prague. Since the company’s inception, XYZ has grown to include partner Todd Brown, Head of Development Kyle Franke, Director of Sales Sarah Gabriel, and Acquisitions Consultant Simon de Bruyn (based in Melbourne, focused on Australia & New Zealand).