"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" unveils its first trailer

Michelle Yeoh returns star in "Croaching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" on Netflix

AT LAST, the long-awaited sequel to the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that mainstreamed the stylized kung-fu visuals popular in Asia, finally has a premiere date. The follow-up to the sword and sorcery movie is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and its premiere on Netflix and in IMAX theaters is set for Friday, February 26, 2016.

Judging just from looks alone, this looks like a worthy successor to the motion picture blockbuster directed by Ang Lee and released in 2000.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny tells an epic story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption, set against breathtaking action in an epic martial arts battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of the Martial World.

Michelle Yeoh will reprise her pivotal role of Yu Shu-Lien, who wowed us with her artistic  choreographed fights in the original epic that took place in ancient China. Can anyone forget that first fight scene from the original movie? It literally took my breath away. She is the only actor returning from the first movie.

The Sword of Destiny is directed by the renowned martial arts choreographer (The Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill 1& 2) and director (Tai Chi Master) Yuen Wo-Ping.

Based on the acclaimed novel, Iron Knight, Silver Vase, by Wang Dulu (book 5 in the Crane-Iron Pentalogy) and written by John Fusco (Marco Polo) the new film has fantastic DNA. It is produced by Harvey Weinstein and Sarah Aubrey and executive produced by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters, The Imitation Game), Ralph Winter (X-Men franchise), Anthony Wong and Bey Logan (The Medallion).

Natasha Liu Bordizzo

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny also stars Donnie Yen (Ip Man 1&2, Monkey King 3D) as Silent Wolf, Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, Revenge of the Green Dragons), Jason Scott Lee (Seventh Son, Hawaii Five-O), Roger Yuan (Bulletproof Monk), Eugenia Yuan (Revenge of the Green Dragons) and newcomer Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Can't wait!

Sunny & Glenn: Asian/American heroic characters dominate Sunday TV,

TONIGHT (Nov. 22) will be the second episode of Into the Badlands, a tale in a dystopian America where the country is divided into 7 fiefdoms ruled by powerful barons.

The opening fight sequence starring Asian/American Daniel Wu is one of the best I've seen as a fan of martial arts films and a follower of the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. It is just so cool.

If that doesn't make you want to watch AMC's 6-episode series first season, I don't know what will.

Wu 's character, Sunny, may have started out as the stereotypical strong, silent type, a staple of these types of stories, but as the first episode demonstrates, the writers are making an attempt to tell his back-story to explain why he is the way he is.

I realize that this type of show is not for everyone. It's just for fun and we need a little bit of escape from the real world, full of violence, wars, ignorance and terrorism.

Meanwhile, back to the Walking Dead ...

WARNING: Spoilers ahead ...

WHAT THE HECK? The producers of the Walking Dead continue to tease us about fan favorite Glenn Rhee, played by Stephen Yeun.

The last time we see Glenn, we see him trying to avoid being lunch for a herd of zombies. Since that time, fans have been going crazy speculating about his fate. This is another strong prediction.

The general consensus from a variety of sources seems to indicate that he somehow survives (don't ask me how!), 

The question becomes, when will the producers reveal that he's still alive? And if he's alive, is it only a brief respite before his life is in danger again. That depends on whether or not the producers deviate from the comic book storyline, which they have done several times. #SaveGlenn, #KeepGlennAlive

Stephen Yeun plays fan favorite Glenn Rhee.

Most likely, we won't know the answer tonight. The producers need something to draw in fans for the mid-season finale next week. Or, the sneaky creators may decide to withhold the answer until the next February when the series returns.(Curses, on them!)

As the lone Asian survivor of the zombie apocalypse,  we have more than a passing interest in Glenn's story. Not only has he evolved from a pizza delivery guy to a out-and-out badass, his character is one of the very few who has not killed a human being maintaining his own humanity in the show's bleak environment, he is one of the few Asian male to actually get the girl. 

Will the producers throw all that away simply to make a dramatic point? Or, will another one of the characters take Glenn's place when the show introduces villain Negan, the leader of the Wolves, who disposes of Glenn in the comics in a most horrific way? 

Like zombies, fans will continue to tune in to follow the survivors and suffer the highs-and-lows with their favorite characters.

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