Author Archives: Kelly Warner

Blade of the Immortal (2017) Review

Blade of the Immortal | Blu-ray & DVD (Magnet Releasing)

Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Ken Kaneko, Yoko Yamamoto, Ebizo Ichikawa Running Time: 140 min. By Kyle Warner Takashi Miike, one of today’s most prolific filmmakers, celebrated his 100th film as a director with Blade of the Immortal. And it’s tough to imagine a more perfect film for Miike by which to hit that amazing 100. … Continue reading

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Boy Who Came Back, The (1958) Review

"The Boy Who Came Back" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Sachiko Hidari, Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Toru Abe, Makiko Aoi, Akemi Ebata, Shoki Fukae, Ayako Fukuda, Akinori Hanamura, Ikuhiro Hashiguchi,Eiko Higashitani, Kaoru Higuchi, Akira Hisamatsu, Kyoko Hori Running Time: 99 min. By Kelly Warner Famed director Seijun Suzuki was fond of saying that his films “made no sense and made no money” and indeed we know him best for the bizarre action movies that led to his … Continue reading

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Solo (1996) Review

"Solo" Theatrical Poster

Director: Norberto Barba Cast: Mario Van Peebles, William Sadler, Adrien Brody, Barry Corbin, Demian Bichir, Jaime Gomez, Seidy Lopez, Abraham Verduzco, Joaquín Garrido Running Time: 94 min. By Kyle Warner Browsing for the new movie to watch in your free time used to be different. I mean, obviously. We’re swamped with choices now, with thousands available to stream at the touch of a button. And it’s awesome, it really is. … Continue reading

Posted in All, News, Other Movies, Reviews |

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Review

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" International Poster

AKA: Star Wars: Episode VIII Director: Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Veronica Ngo, Justin Theroux, Togo Igawa, Amanda Lawrence Running Time: 152 min.  By Kyle Warner Right, so before we get started: I am going to talk about the new Star Wars movie. If you want … Continue reading

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Legend of the Broken Sword Hero (2017) Review

Broken Sword Hero | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

AKA: Broken Sword Hero Director: Bin Bunluerit Cast: Buakaw Banchamek, Sornsin Maneewan, Nantawut Boonrubsub, Vannapoom Songsuparp, Chutirada Junthit, Phutharit Prombandal, Jaran Ngamdee Running Time: 120 min. By Kyle Warner I tend to approach a new Thai martial arts film with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Because while it’s unfair to generalize an entire film industry’s output, my experience with Thailand’s action cinema often seems to have similar highs and lows across … Continue reading

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Criterion get their Kaiju on with more Godzilla…

The Criterion’s “wacky C” logo was first spotted attached to various Showa era Godzilla titles on Starz’s streaming service. Because fans had received no prior notice of such a major move – and since the art on each title was rather cheap by Criterion standards (worth noting that Criterion often uses temp art for streaming titles that have not yet received a physical release) – the kaiju fandom mixed their excitement with … Continue reading

Posted in News |

City on Fire’s List of Essential Japanese Horror Cinema

Asian Horror has become a popular sub-genre for horror fiends in recent years with the arrival of directors like Takashi Miike, Chan-wook Park, and the Pang Brothers. With a few notable exceptions, the horror cinema from Hong Kong and China has some difficulty attracting world audiences, partly due to censorship in their own film industry and also due to the tendency to rely upon comedy and folktales that don’t always … Continue reading

Posted in Features, News |

God of War (2017) Review

"God of War" Theatrical Poster

Director: Gordon Chan Cast: Vincent Chiu, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Yasuaki Kurata, Regina Wan, Keisuke Koide, Wang Ban, Wu Yue, Jiang Luxia, Liu Junxiao, Micheal Tong Running Time: 90 min. By Kelly Warner Ming soldiers advance on a fortified gate. Blood from a previous battle runs like a stream over the mud. Thousands of Japanese pirates wait on the other side of the gate, their latest attempt at a land grab to … Continue reading

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New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss (1976) Review

"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Isao Bito, Takeo Chii, Takuya Fujioka, Seizo Fukumoto, Eiji Go, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Chieko Matsubara, Kan Mikami, Michiro Minami, Sanae Nakahara, Kōji Nanjo Running Time: 91 min. By Kyle Warner 1976 just happened to be a leap year. And on February 29th, a woman with a drug problem is murdered. The first suspect is the yakuza Imamura, her known supplier. But then Imamura … Continue reading

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Bluebeard (2017) Review

Director: Lee So-Youn Producer: Choi Jae-Won Cast: Cho Jin-Woong, Shin Goo Kim, Dae-Myung, Lee Chung-Ah, Song Young-Chang, Yoon Se-Ah Running Time: 117 min. By Kyle Warner In recent years, serial killer thrillers have fallen out of favor in Hollywood. The reason, I think, is that movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en gave filmmakers a solid blueprint to follow, and many screenwriters followed it too closely. There’s a reason why fictionalized wannabe … Continue reading

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New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss’s Head (1975) Review

"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Seizo Fukumoto, Yuriko Hishimi, Meiko Kaji, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Ryuji Katagiri, Nenji Kobayashi, Hideo Murota, Mikio Narita, Ko Nishimura, Bunta Sugawara, Asao Uchida Running Time: 94 min. By Kelly Warner Now this is more like it. I was a bit disappointed with the first New Battles film, and if writer Koji Takada’s account of things is correct, so was director Kinji Fukasaku. The first film of the trilogy is … Continue reading

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New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1974) Review

"New Battles Without Honour & Humanity" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Tsunehiko Watase, Kunie Tanaka, Noboru Ando, Seizo Fukumoto, Reiko Ike, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Yoko Koizumi Running Time: 98 min. By Kelly Warner When Toei’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity came to a close in 1974 with Final Episode, audiences still in love with the series demanded more, and the studio was more than happy to oblige. Over the next three years, … Continue reading

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Super Bodyguard | aka Iron Protector (2016) Review

Iron Protector | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

AKA: The Bodyguard Director: Yue Song Cast: Yue Song, Xing Yu, Li Yufei, Collin Chou, Chan Wai Man, Shang Tielong, Xu Dongmei, Yang Jun, Li Changhai, Jiang Baocheng Running Time: 90 min. Kyle Warner Iron Protector, aka The Bodyguard, aka Super Bodyguard, is the sophomore effort of filmmaker and star Yue Song. I didn’t see his debut, The King of the Streets, and cannot comment on how far he’s come in front of and behind the camera in the four years between films. But … Continue reading

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Bitcoin Heist (2016) Review

Bitcoin Heist | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Ham Tran Cast: Kate Nhung, Thanh Pham, Petey Majik Nguyen, Suboi, Jayvee Mai, Lam Thanh My, Teo Yoo, Veronica Ngo Running Time: 110 min. By Kyle Warner Before we get to talking about what kind of movie Bitcoin Heist is, I’m going to start off the same way that the film does by attempting to explain what bitcoins are. Bitcoins are a digital currency with no central repository and no national fingerprint. It’s … Continue reading

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Doberman Cop (1977) Review

Doberman Cop | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Sonny Chiba, Janet Hatta, Eiko Matsuda, Masaru Shiga, Tatsuo Endo, Hideo Murota, Koichi Iwaki, Takuzo Kawatani, Hiroki Matsukata, Ryuji Katagiri Running Time: 90 min. By Kelly Warner An Okinawa girl’s been murdered, the latest in what appears to be the work of a serial killer. She was strangled and then her apartment was set on fire, making any positive identification unlikely. The Tokyo cops are stumped, so … Continue reading

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