Author Archives: Kelly Warner

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) Review

"John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Chad Stahelski Cast: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Jason Mantzoukas, Robin Lord Taylor, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman, Tiger Hu Chen, Jerome Flynn, Tobias Segal Running Time: 131 min. By Kelly Warner The John Wick films are popular with audiences and critics but seem to split some action movie aficionados with one side … Continue reading

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Mile 22 (2018) Review

"Mile 22" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Peter Berg Cast: Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey, Sam Medin, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Chae Rin Lee, Poorna Jagannathan, Myke Holmes Running Time: 94 min. By Kelly Warner There’s a joke online that when an international breaking news tragedy occurs, Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg are first in line to get the movie rights. From terrorist attacks to environmental disasters, it would seem that the duo … Continue reading

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Eastern Cherries – First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Korea Edition Part III

While I can definitively say that Jackie Chan introduced me to Hong Kong/Chinese cinema and that Godzilla opened the door for me to the world of Japanese cinema, it’s a little harder to remember where my appreciation for Korean film began. That’s interesting because I didn’t get into Korean movies until the last decade or so, whereas my interest in HK and Japanese film began much earlier. I think, unlike … Continue reading

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Prayer Before Dawn, A (2017) Review

"A Prayer Before Dawn" Theatrical Poster

Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire Cast: Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringarm, Panya Yimmumphai, Somluck Kamsing, Billy Moore, Nicolas Shake, Sura Sirmalai, Sakda Niamhom, Komsan Polsan Running Time: 117 min. By Kelly Warner We first meet British boxer Billy Moore preparing for a small kickboxing match in Thailand. The fight doesn’t go well for Billy. After the bout, he surrenders to his drug of choice, yaba (known as the ‘madness drug’). We don’t get to … Continue reading

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Halloween (2018) Review

"Halloween" Theatrical Poster

Director: David Gordon Green Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Toby Huss, Jefferson Hall, Rhian Rees Running Time: 105 min. By Kyle Warner It’s strange – yet totally welcome, in my opinion – for a slasher movie to be an event film in 2018. And it seems only appropriate that it would be a new Halloween that summoned the crowds … Continue reading

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Eastern Cherries – First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Japan Edition Part II

I think it’s fair to say that Japanese cinema was a part of my movie watching experience since childhood. I was a kid who loved dinosaurs and as a result I loved watching dinosaur and monster movies. I didn’t really understand until much later that a sizeable number of these movies were made in other countries, many of them in Japan. They were dubbed and, to be honest, the human … Continue reading

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Apostle (2018) Review

"Apostle" Teaser Poster

Director: Gareth Evans Writer: Gareth Evans Cast: Dan Stevens, Lucy Boynton, Mark Lewis Jones, Bill Milner, Kristine Froseth, Michael Sheen, Blake Ridder, Owain Gwynn, Juke Hardy, Pino Maiello Running Time: 129 min. By Kelly Warner After The Raid 2, many of us assumed that the next Gareth Evans film we’d be watching would be The Raid 3. But Evans made it clear that he needed a break from The Raid … Continue reading

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Hold the Dark (2018) Review

"Hold the Dark" Poster

Director: Jeremy Saulnier Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough, Julian Black Antelope Running Time: 125 min. By Kyle Warner In days like these, when seemingly every other person in Alaska has their own reality TV show and the powers that be plan to put oil pipelines all across the land, the state of Alaska is losing some of its rugged, dangerous appeal. But in the deep … Continue reading

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Oh Lucy! (2017) Review

"Oh Lucy!" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Atsuko Hirayanagi Cast: Shinobu Terajima, Josh Hartnett, Kaho Minami, Shiori Kutsuna, Koji Yakusho, Megan Mullally, Reiko Aylesworth, Suzuka Ohgo, Hajime Inoue, Leni Ito Running Time: 95 min.  By Kelly Warner Setsuko is a depressed, lonely middle-aged woman working in a joyless office job with nothing to come home to but a big mess of an apartment. Her family – a bitchy sister and a niece that was the result … Continue reading

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Black Water (2018) Review

"Black Water" Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Pasha Patriki Writer: Chad Law Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Patrick Kilpatrick, Al Sapienza, Jasmine Waltz, Kristopher Van Varenberg, Courtney B Turk Running Time: 104 min. By Kelly Warner I like Jean-Claude Van Damme. I blame/thank the good people of this here site for convincing me to give the actor’s films another look after I had dismissed them as forgettable, low-rent action movies. And, to be sure, some … Continue reading

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Eastern Cherries – First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Hong Kong & China Edition Part II

Today I couldn’t tell you whose idea it was to go to Blockbuster and rent a Jackie Chan VHS but I can clearly remember more than one family movie night spent laughing and gasping in shock while watching Operation Condor. Of course, even this innocent memory of a Hong Kong superstar’s attempt at an Indiana Jones movie is somehow wrapped up in Weinstein controversy. For the longest time, pre-internet Kyle … Continue reading

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Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! (1963) Review

Director: Seijun Suzuki Writer: Iwao Yamazaki, Haruhiko Oyabu Cast: Joe Shishido, Reiko Sasamori, Tamio Kawachi, Nobuo Kaneko, Kinzo Shin, Naomi Hoshi, Asao Sano, Yuko Kusunoki, Kotoe Hatsui Running Time: 89 min. By Kelly Warner Like most people, my first Seijun Suzuki film was the infamous Branded to Kill. It was unlike any crime movie I’d seen before; weird, visually inventive, playful, and shocking. Jo Shishido got off on the smell of rice, there were all … Continue reading

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Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018) Review

Director: Steven C. Miller Writer: Miles Chapman Cast: Huang Xiaoming, Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Jesse Metcalfe, Wes Chatham, Chen Tang, Titus Welliver, Jaime King, Curtis Jackson Running Time: 94 min. By Kelly Warner I enjoyed the first Escape Plan (2013). It’s nothing particularly memorable, but it’s good popcorn entertainment, and Arnold and Sly appeared to be having a good time. Though I was not against the idea of a sequel, one didn’t seem likely considering the movie’s weak domestic box … Continue reading

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Incoming (2018) Review

"Incoming" Theatrical Poster

Director: Eric Zaragoza Cast: Scott Adkins, Aaron McCusker, Michelle Lahane, Vahidin Prelic, Lukas Loughran, Alaa Safi, Milan Kovacevic, Arkie Reece, James MacCallum, Vladan Dujovic Running Time: 89 min. By Kyle Warner SCOTT… ADKINS… IN… SPACE! For a certain group of movie viewers, that’s hand over the money, give it to me now sort of entertainment. Me, I like Adkins. Though he hasn’t reached the popularity of the high kicking stars … Continue reading

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Evil of Dracula (1974) Review

"Evil of Dracula" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Bloodsucking Rose Director: Michio Yamamoto Cast: Toshio Kurosawa, Mariko Mochizuki, Kunie Tanaka, Shin Kishida, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Mio Ota, Mika Katsuragi, Keiko Aramaki, Yunosuke Ito, Yasuko Agawa Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner In Michio Yamamoto’s Bloodthirsty Trilogy, The Vampire Doll was like a fever dream of a vampire movie and Lake of Dracula was a social anxiety thriller disguised as a vampire movie, so where could the director … Continue reading

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