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on Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) ReviewFinally got around to watching this. The first third of the film is fantastic…
on The Furious (2026) ReviewJust saw this. John Wick, Donnie Yen, Bren Foster, Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, Ik…
on 14 Blades (2010) ReviewMy favourite Daniel Lee movie is Moonlight Express by quite a wide margin. Ma…
on FIGHTING BLACK KINGS! Watch the Trailer for ‘Paper Made’ featuring Michael Jai White, Taimak and Walter E. JonesCinema!!!!!
on You gotta let your WANG hang! Steve Wang’s cult classic ‘Guyver 2: Dark Hero’ arriving on Blu-ray later this yearYes! Look at the features! I’m so happy, y’all. Can’t wait for this thing.
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upCecep Arif Rahman Wu Jing Masanori Mimoto Iko Uwais Jet Li Jiang Luxia Andy L…
on 14 Blades (2010) ReviewCalling 14 Blades a remake of Secret Serviceof the Imperial Court is quite th…
on ‘Blades of the Guardians’ hits digital on June 30 and arrives on physical media on August 25 with a new overly long titleFilms are subjective. The person watching gets to decide if they are good or…
on FIGHTING BLACK KINGS! Watch the Trailer for ‘Paper Made’ featuring Michael Jai White, Taimak and Walter E. JonesI can’t to watch this. I am already sold on it.
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow up"strong $19.6 million" Compared to the more than 100M$ made by City of darkne…
on Operation Hadal (2025) ReviewI'm inclined to agree with you: I had the same thought, that the audience for…
on Hop right to it! New Bruce Lee doc, ‘Mr. Vampire’ reboot and more arriving from veteran Hong Kong producer Bey LoganMr. Bey Logan, It's great to see you posting here on City on Fire. As a longt…
on Broken Rhythm: Bruce Lee’s Game of Death (2026) ReviewLet's you make a movie my friend. What do you contribute to society?
on Broken Rhythm: Bruce Lee’s Game of Death (2026) ReviewGlad it looks good. When do we can expect to see it digitally? Or order it on…
on Broken Rhythm: Bruce Lee’s Game of Death (2026) ReviewJonathan Hillburn huh? Ok chaps. If you know you know.
on Broken Rhythm: Bruce Lee’s Game of Death (2026) ReviewBruce Lee documentaries are a dime a dozen. pass.
Author Archives: Kelly Warner
Outlaw: Heartless (1968) Review
AKA: Gangster VIP 3 Director: Mio Ezaki Producer: Kaneo Iwaib Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Ryohei Uchida, Koji Wada, Hiroshi Nawa, Isao Tamagawa, Eiji Go, Ryoji Hayama, Fumio Watanabe, Kaku Takashina, Asao Uchida Running Time: 92 min. Kelly Warner For me, Outlaw: Heartless is a difficult film to figure out. Viewed purely on its own terms, it’s an entertaining crime pic with a cool antihero leading a cast of interesting … Continue reading
Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 (1968) Review
Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Izumi Ashikawa, Eimei Esumi, Jukei Fujioka, Shoki Fukae, Joji Hidehara, Seishiro Iwate, Meiko Kaji, Hatsuko Kawahara, Ichiro Kijima, Toshizo Kudo, Kayo Matsuo, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 97 min. By Kelly Warner Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 catches up with our gangster protagonist Goro Fujikawa (Tetsuya Watari) as he rides a train out of Tokyo to reunite with the woman he sent away at … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Nitani, Keiichi Ozawa, Kunie Tanaka, Meiko Kaji, Tetsuya Watari
Outlaw: Gangster VIP (1968) Review
Director: Toshio Masuda Writer: Kaneo Ikegami, Reiji Kubota Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Mitsuo Hamada, Tamio Kawaji, Kyosuke Machida, Kayo Matsuo Running Time: 93 min. By Kelly Warner There are a huge number of classic Japanese films that most the world hasn’t seen yet. So it’s always great when a home video distributor like Arrow, Criterion, Eureka, and others rediscover some forgotten gem and show it to the world. And … Continue reading
Friend 2 | aka Chingoo 2 (2013) Review
Director: Kwak Kyung-Taek Cast: Yoo Oh-Sung, Kim Woo-Bin, Joo Jin-Mo, Jung Ho-Bin, Lee Cheol-Min, Jang Young-Nam, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Gi Ju-Bong, Bae Sung-Jong, Jung Soo-Kyo Running Time: 124 min. By Kelly Warner Kwak Kyung-taek’s 2001 gangster drama Friend is widely considered to be a modern classic in South Korean cinema. I like the movie but you could probably say that I’m not one of Friend’s biggest fans. I rewatched it recently … Continue reading
Great Hypnotist, The (2014) Review
Director: Leste Chen Writer: Endrix Ren, Leste Chen Cast: Xu Zheng, Karen Mok, Hu Jing, Li Fangcong, David Wang, Lu Zhong, Yang Kaidi, Guan Le, Dai Ming, Song Ci, Jiang Ditong, Jin Shunzi, Yin Hang, Song Yanzhou Running Time: 102 min. By Kelly Warner You know how sometimes you’re watching a film and think, ‘I bet so-and-so would really enjoy this movie’? Well, I’m willing to bet that M. Night … Continue reading
Hard Corps, The (2006) Review
AKA: The Defender Director: Sheldon Lettich Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Razaaq Adoti, Vivica A. Fox, Peter Bryant, Ron Bottitta, Viv Leacock, Adrian Holmes, Mark Griffin, Aaron Au, Dexter Bell Running Time: 110 min. By Kelly Warner When a movie is a direct-to-DVD release, it comes with certain (usually lowered) expectations. We typically expect something low budget, often with subpar acting, and just enough of the right genre ingredients to appease … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Reviews
Tagged Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sheldon Lettich, Vivica Fox
Second in Command (2006) Review
Director: Simon Fellows Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Julie Cox, Alan McKenna, William Tapley, Razaaq Adoti, Velibor Topic, Warren Derosa, Ian Virgo, Raffaello Degruttola Raffaello Degruttola, Serban Celea, Vlad Ivanov, Vlad Ivanov, Razvan Oprea, Mihai Bisericanu, Colin Stinton Running Time: 92 min. By Kyle Warner After reading the post by Jeff Bona on the influential career in action movies that Jean-Claude Van Damme has had (“The Most ‘Remade’ Action Star”), I … Continue reading
Rambling Guitarist, The (1959) Review
Director: Buichi Saito Writer: Gan Yamazaki Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Nobuo Kaneko, Jo Shishido, Misako Watanabe, Kyoji Aoyama, Mari Shiraki, Hiroshi Nihon’yanagi, Yuzo Kiura, San’emon Suzuki, Hyosuke Kanbe, Tsuneo Katagiri Running Time: 78 min. By Kyle Warner The Rambling Guitarist is a film that has very clearly taken some notes on what was popular at the time in Hollywood. What begins as an Elvis-inspired drama about a … Continue reading
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) Review
Director: Yuen Woo-ping Cast: Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum, Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Roger Yuan, Woon Young Park, Eugenia Yuan, Ju Ju Chan, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Veronica Ngo Running Time: 103 min. By Kelly Warner Considering the popularity and critical acclaim of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a sequel probably seemed like a no-brainer. Well, it took 15 years and the evolution of a streaming service into a production company … Continue reading
Red Pier | aka Red Quay (1958) Review
AKA: Red Quay Director: Toshio Masuda Cast: Yujiro Ishihara, Mie Kitahara, Masumi Okada, Sanae Nakahara, Shiro Osaka, Hiroshi Hijikata, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner Dock worker Sugitaya steps off a boat to meet a man at the harbor. A crane swings low, crushes Sugitaya. Yujiro Ishihara’s gangster Jiro watches on, unimpressed. “Nasty way to go,” Jiro says. “Why can’t they be cool?” And with that, we … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Nitani, Toshio Masuda, Yujiro Ishihara
Dragon Blade (2015) Review
Director: Daniel Lee Cast: Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Lin Peng, Mika Wang, Choi Siwon, Xiao Yang, Wang Taili, Sammy Hung, Yoo Seung-jun, Karena Lam, Li Shao-Ting Running Time: 103/127 min. By Kelly Warner The casting lineup of Jackie Chan, John Cusack, and Adrien Brody for a historical action movie sounds downright crazy – and also, I must admit, rather intriguing. Just ten years ago a movie headlined by … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Adrien Brody, Daniel Lee Yan Gong, Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Max Huang, Sammy Hung Tin Chiu, Steve Yoo Seung Jun, William Feng
Voice Without a Shadow (1958) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Hideaki Nitani, Yoko Minamida, Jo Shishido, Shinsuke Ashida, Kotoe Hatsui, Taketoshi Naito, Keisuke Noro, Toshio Takahara, Kaku Takashina, Kenjiro Uemura Runnning Time: 92 min. By Kelly Warner In the old days, a film studio would have its contract actors who appeared in multiple releases each year and there was very little cross-pollination of actors working on films for other studios. Of course the bigger stars headlined … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Nitani, Jo Shishido, Nobuo Kaneko, Seijun Suzuki
Assassin, The | aka The Hidden Heroine (2015) Review
AKA: The Lady From Tang Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien Cast: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Nikki Hsieh Hsin Ying, Chang Shao Huai, Zuo Xiao Qing, Ethan Ruan Jing Tian, Jiang Wen, Xu Fan, Zhou Yun Runing Time: 105 min. By Kelly Warner Hou Hsiao-hsien won Best Director at 2015’s Cannes Film Festival for his exquisitely filmed Tang Dynasty drama The Assassin. Since that time, the conversation about The Assassin has … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Chang Chen, Ethan Juan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jiang Wen, Shu Qi
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 5: Final Episode (1974) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Koji Takada Producer: Goro Kusakabe Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Kinya Kitaoji, Joe Shishido, Junkichi Orimoto, Kunie Tanaka, Shingo Yamashirom Hiroki Matsukata, Goichi Yamada, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Asao Uchida, Isao Konami Running Time: 98 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series was hugely successful when they were first released in the early 1970’s and the films remain highly regarded … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Jo Shishido, Kinji Fukasaku, Kinya Kitaoji, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 4: Police Tactics (1974) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Kazuo Kasahara Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Hideo Murota, Shingo Yamashiro, Kunie Tanaka, Shinichiro Mikami, Ichiro Ogura, Asao Koike, Asao Uchida, Harumi Sone, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 101 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series is best viewed back-to-back and never is that more true than with Proxy War and Police Tactics. … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko
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