Yearly Archives: 2011

Cold Fish (2010) Review

Cold Fish DVD (Salient)

Director: Sion Sono Cast: Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka Running Time: 145 min. By HKFanatic Japanese director Sion Sono first caught the attention of the international film community with 2001’s “Suicide Club,” a movie that remains a J-horror cult classic, notorious for its opening scene in which a cadre of schoolgirls leap in front of an oncoming train. Since then Sion Sono has been putting out … Continue reading

Posted in Japanese, Reviews | Tagged |

Big Racket, The (1976) Review

"The Big Racket" Italian Theatrical Poster

Director: Enzo G. Castellari Cast: Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia, Renzo Palmer, Orso Maria Guerrini, Glauco Onorato, Marcella Michelangeli, Romano Puppo, Antonio Marsina Running Time: 106 min. By HKFanatic Two years after “Street Law,” director Enzo G. Castellari returned to the Poliziotteschi genre, or Italian police films, with “The Big Racket.” This time around the main character is actually a cop (played by Fabio Testo) instead of a vigilante. Italian horror … Continue reading

Posted in Italian, Reviews | Tagged , , |

The Chaser aka Chugyeogja Blu-ray (IFC)

RELEASE DATE: TBA One of my top 20 movies of all time! The Chaser is about an ex-cop turned pimp (Yun-seok Kim) who realizes his “bitches” are sporadically disappearing one by one. He backtracks through his paperwork and figures out that the latest missing girl was sent to the same guy (Jung-woo Ha) the previous missing victim was sent to. Check out the trailer, which does the movie no justice!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Helldriver Blu-ray/DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011 Well Go USA presents Helldriver, a Japanese splatter film directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police). It stars Yumiko Hara and Eihi Shiina, and was written by Nishimura and Daichi Nagisa. Check out the trailer here.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

A Better Tomorrow (Korean remake) Blu-ray/DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2011 Well Go USA’s newest release is a Korean remake of one of the most influential movies to come out of Hong Kong. This new film stars Kim Gang-Woo’s (Marine Boy), Joo Jin-Mo’s (Musa) and Jo Han-Seon and directed by Song Hae-Seong (Failan). Check out the trailer and read our review. Note: Despite what the Amazon links say, this is the remake and not John Woo’s … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Twilight Samurai (2002) Review

"Twilight Samurai" Theatrical Poster

Director: Yoji Yamada Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Min Tanaka, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Osugi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Keiko Kishi, Tetsuro Tanba, Takako Miyashima Running Time: 129 min. By Alexander This isn’t your traditional samurai action flick. There’s only a couple of fight scenes, and while both are well-filmed and suspenseful, they’re short and with only a fraction of blood you would expect from a movie with the word “samurai” in the … Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Nowhere to Hide (2000) Review

Director: Lee Myung-sae Writer: Lee Myung-sae Cast: Joong-Hoon Park (Woo), Dong-Kun Jang, Ji-Woo Choi, Sung-kee Ahn, Sang Myun Park Running Time: 112 min. By Joe909 A mish-mash of style and substance, Nowhere to Hide is more focused than most other Korean movies I’ve seen. Which is to say, it doesn’t clock in at an epic running time. The shorter length doesn’t prevent flaws, though. As MPM points out, the opening … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Shiri | aka Swiri (1999) Review

Director: Kang Je-Gyu Producer: Kang Je-Kyu Cast: Han Seok-Kyu, Song Kang-Ho, Choi Min-Shik, Kim Yun-Jin, Yun Ju-Sang, Park Yong-Woo Running Time: 125 min. By Numskull Normally, I hate it when people talk about movies “sending messages.” The blocs of suburban yuppie mommies (better known as “soccer moms”) that currently hold a disproportionately large amount of dominion over American life have hijacked the word “message” and imposed upon it a definition … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Enter Three Dragons | aka Dragon on Fire (1981) Review

"Enter Three Dragons" American Theatrical Poster

Director: Joseph Kong Co-director: Godfrey Ho Cast: Dragon Lee, Bruce Lai, Bruce Thai, Cheung Lik, Samuel Walls, Bolo Yeung Tze, Philip Ko Fei, Fong Yau, Tiger Yeung Cheng Wu, To Siu Ming, Kong Do, Alexander Grand Running Time: 90 min. By Jeff Bona When a small time hood named Sammy (Samuel Walls) gets himself mixed up with deadly gangsters, he enlists the help of a kung fu master named Dragon … Continue reading

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Assassination Games aka Weapon DVD (Sony)

RELEASE DATE: September 6, 2011 Van Damme is back! And he’s teaming up with Scott Adkins (“Ninja”) in his most highly anticipated movie since J.C.V.D. Check out the cityonfire.com review here. Check out the trailer here.

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles |

Street Law | aka The Anonymous Avenger (1974) Review

AKA: The Citizen Rebels, Vigilante II Director: Enzo G. Castellari Cast: Franco Nero, Giancarlo Prete, Barbara Bach, Renzo Palmer, Nazzareno Zamperla, Romano Puppo Running Time: 105 min. By HKFanatic Following my review of “Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man“, I continue my exploration of the “Poliziotteschi” genre, or Italian police films from the 1970’s, with “Street Law.” Much like “Live Like a Cop…” this film opens with a … Continue reading

Posted in Italian, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Zombie aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2-Disc Ultimate Edition Blu-ray/DVD (Blue Underground)

RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2011 In Italy, it was considered the ‘unofficial sequel’ to DAWN OF THE DEAD. In England, it was known as ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS and banned as obscene. In America, it was called ZOMBIE. Blue Underground is proud to present ZOMBIE in a new 2K High Definition transfer from the original uncut and uncensored camera negative. Now fully-loaded with hours of brand new Extras, this is the … Continue reading

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Other Notable Titles |

Nowhere to Run (1993) Review

Nowhere to Run Blu-ray (Image)

Director: Robert Harmon Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rosanna Arquette, Kieran Culkin, Tiffany Taubman, Ted Levine, Edward Blatchford, Anthony Starke, Joss Ackland, Tony Brubaker Running Time: 94 min. By HKFanatic Jean Claude Van Damme released two films in 1993: “Nowhere to Run” in January and “Hard Target” in August. Although Van Damme got to show off his muscles in both movies, the two couldn’t be more different from each other. Say … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Related, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

The Vineyard DVD (Image)

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2011 Directed by and starring James Hong (best known as David Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China). Dr. Elson Po (James Hong) is a man obsessed with the forbidden secrets of immortality. An expert in black magic, he poses as a film producer to lure young victims to his remote island. Also starring Hong Kong’s Michael Fitzgerald Wong (Beast Cops). Check out a clip … Continue reading

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Other Notable Titles |

The Hills Have Eyes Unrated Collection: Parts 1 and 2 Blu-ray (Fox)

RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2011 I’m not one for remakes, but I’m down for anything with French director Alexandre Aja’s (“High Tension” aka “Haute Tension”) name in the credits. Aja’s 2010 “Piranha 3D” remake hit the spot, but there’s nothing like his version of “Hills Have Eyes”. Talk about pulling no punches. I can only speak for the 1st one (I have yet to see Part 2, which wasn’t directed … Continue reading

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Other Notable Titles |