Author Archives: Kelly Warner

Kill ’em All (2017) Review

"Kill 'em All" Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Peter Malota Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Autumn Reeser, Peter Stormare, María Conchita Alonso, Daniel Bernhardt, Kris Van Damme, Mila Kaladjurdjevic, Peter Organ Running Time: 96 min. By Kelly Warner Stunt performers and fight coordinators are awesome individuals that go largely underappreciated by far too many film fans. I tend to think that may not be the case at City on Fire, but the point remains. These men and women … Continue reading

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Atomic Blonde (2017) Review

"Atomic Blonde" International Theatrical Poster

Director: David Leitch Writer: Kurt Johnstad Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones, Bill Skarsgård, Daniel Bernhardt, Sam Hargrave, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Lili Gesler Running Time: 115 min. By Kelly Warner With a bit of fancy editing and a dash of special effects, movies can make just about anyone into an action hero these days. But every once in a while, a … Continue reading

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Okja (2017) Review

"Okja" Teaser Poster

Director: Bong Joon-ho Cast: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Yoon Je-moon, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Choi Woo-shik, Giancarlo Esposito, Jake Gyllenhaal Running Time: 120 min.  By Kelly Warner “Here, you’ve got to try this,” is something I think we’ve all heard from somebody in the presence of food. And maybe we’ve even been secretly waiting for such an invitation to sample … Continue reading

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Cops vs. Thugs (1975) Review

Cops vs Thugs | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike, Hiroki Matsukata, Toru Abe, Mikio Narita, Akira Shioji, Tatsuo Umemiya, Shotaro Hayashi, Hideo Murota, Masaharu Arikawa Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner No one dies well in a Kinji Fukasaku gangster movie. A director who fuels nearly every scene with rage or panic, his characters always seem to either be screaming at each other or tripping over one another in an attempt to escape … Continue reading

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Wolf Guy: Enraged Lycanthrope (1975) Review

Wolf Guy | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)

Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Cast: Sonny Chiba, Rikiya Yasuoka, Saburo Date, Koji Fujiyama, Tooru Hanada, Ryuji Hayami, Jiro Ibuki, Harukui Jo, Kenji Kawai, Hiroshi Kondo, Koji Miemachi, Etsuko Nami, Yoshio Neshima Running Time: 86 min. By Kelly Warner There are two types of film fans in the world; those who learn of Sonny Chiba’s 1975 werewolf action movie Wolf Guy with a “Huh?” and those who almost immediately plunk down $20 so that … Continue reading

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Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016) Review

"Mifune: The Last Samurai" Theatrical Poster

Director: Steven Okazaki Cast: Keanu Reeves, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Koji Yakusho, Sadao Nakajima, Kyoko Kagawa Running Time: 80 min. By Kelly Warner “The ordinary Japanese actor might need ten feet of film to get across an impression; Mifune needed only three.” – Akira Kurosawa Like many others, I have Godzilla to thank for first introducing me to Japanese movies. But when the day finally came for me … Continue reading

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Guns, bullets and death prevail in the New ‘Dark Tower’ Trailer

In a writing career that stretches over fifty novels, hundreds of short stories, and over forty years, Stephen King considers The Dark Tower to be his magnum opus. The dark fantasy series which involves western gunslingers and demonic villains takes place over eight central novels, but its influences and its secrets have spread to other King works, including The Stand and Hearts in Atlantis. The series follows the gunslinger Roland … Continue reading

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Three (2016) Review

Three | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Johnnie To Cast: Louis Koo, Wallace Chung, Vicky Zhao Wei, Lam Suet, Lo Hoi-Pang, Timmy Hung, Michael Tse, Eddie Cheung, Mimi Kung, Raymond Wong Ho-Yin Running Time: 89 min. By Kelly Warner After a couple years spent making comedies, director Johnnie To returns to the gritty crime genre with the cops vs. robbers vs. doctors thriller Three. Like all of To’s finest films, Three is positively dripping with style. Near … Continue reading

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Sea Fog | aka Haemoo (2014) Review

Director: Shim Sung-Bo Writer: Shim Sung-Bo, Bong Joon-Ho Cast: Kim Yun-Seok, Park Yoo-Chun, Han Ye-Ri, Lee Hee-Joon, Moon Sung-Geun, Kim Sang-Ho Running Time: 111 min. By Kyle Warner I think Memories of Murder deserves to be in the conversation of the finest films ever made. Dark, thrilling, funny, and almost poetic, it’s the movie that made me a fan of director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who did not disappoint when he followed up that masterwork with other … Continue reading

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Cold War II (2016) Review

"Cold War II" Theatrical Poster

Director: Longman Leung Co-director: Sunny Luk Cast: Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Chow Yun-Fat, Charlie Young, Janice Man Wing-San, Eddie Peng, Aarif Rahman, Tony Yang, Chang Kuo-chu, Wu Yue Running Time: 110 min.  By Kelly Warner The 2012 Hong Kong crime film Cold War created a lot of buzz before its release and, at least in the West, did not seem to maintain that buzz once it reached audiences. It’s a good looking film, headlined by some of Hong … Continue reading

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Great Wall, The (2016) Review

The Great Wall | Blu-ray & DVD (Universal)

Director: Zhang Yimou Cast: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau, Zhang Hanyu, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Cheney Chen, Huang Xuan, Karry Wang, Ryan Zheng Running Time: 104 min.  By Kelly Warner In 2008, Zhang Yimou amazed the world with the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. It was a spectacle for the eyes, ears, heart, and mind. As a fan of his movies and as a stunned observer of the … Continue reading

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Japanese New Wave director Seijun Suzuki passes away

Nikkatsu is reporting that famed action movie and Japanese New Wave director Seijun Suzuki passed away on February 13th, 2017 at age 93. Suzuki began his career with Nikkatsu in 1956. He made many pictures each year, filming at a rapid pace. As time went on, he began to experiment more, both visually and otherwise, much to the chagrin of film executives. His 1967 movie Branded to Kill, a Jo Shishido hitman thriller … Continue reading

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Handmaiden, The (2016) Review

"The Handmaiden" Theatrical Poster

Director: Park Chan-wook Novel By: Sarah Waters Cast: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Tae-ri, Lee Yong-Nyeo, Yoo Min-Chae  Running Time: 144 min. By Kyle Warner After making his English language debut in 2013 with Stoker, Park Chan-wook returned to South Korea for his next feature film, The Handmaiden. And while obviously a Park Chan-wook film, I feel that The Handmaiden has more of a western-style than Stoker did. Stoker was Park bringing his Korean dark revenge … Continue reading

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Ley Lines (1999) Review

Black Society Trilogy | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)

Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Ichiro Ryu Cast: Show Aikawa, Samuel Pop Aning, Takeshi Caesar, Yukie Itou, Michisuke Kashiwaya,Kazuki Kitamura, Dan Li, Ryuushi Mizukami, Ren Osugi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Naoto Takenaka, Koji Tsukamoto, Hua Rong Weng Running Time: 105 min. By Kelly Warner Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy kicked off with a lurid and offensive bang in 1995 with Shinjuku Triad Society. He followed that up with Rainy Dog in 1997, a quieter, more reserved crime drama. (That’s … Continue reading

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Tokyo Fist (1995) Review

"Tokyo Fist" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Cast: Kahori Fujii, Shinya Tsukamoto, Koji Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka, Naoto Takenaka, Koichi Wajima, Tomorowo Taguchi, Nobu Kanaoka  Running Time: 87 min. By Kyle Warner Shinya Tsukamoto, throughout his career, has brought his particular vision to a variety of genres. Due to the legendary status of the Tetsuo trilogy, Tsukamoto is often thought of as a director of cyberpunk. This is wrong. Shinya Tsukamoto is, at his core, … Continue reading

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