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on Exit 8 (2025) ReviewI have to admit, the coughing kind of got to me too. :-) By the last splutter…
on Exit 8 (2025) ReviewIt's not too often that I watch the movie adaptation of a video game that I h…
on The Furious (2026) ReviewI guess you can't blame the marketing team. "Best action movie since the Raid…
on The power of ghouls compels you! Eureka unleashes ‘Ghouls Gone Wild’ on Blu-ray starring Chow Yun-fat and Ricky HuiWoah, "Magic of Spell" is a HUGE get! Does anyone know if a restoration of th…
on Universal Soldier (1971) ReviewChump change, not “chunk” change, as in one would have to be a chump to work…
on Iceman: The Time Traveler (2018) ReviewLOL I like how you started your comment there, I couldn't stop laughing for a…
on Aces Go Places | 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Shout)Karl Maka is one of the all time greats. Sounds your mother made a Typo when…
on OPERATION KAZAKHSTAN! First look at Jackie Chan in ‘Armour of God 4’ with his iconic Asian Hawk gearThat's messed up, given that LKL was one of Shaw's top directors. Sucks to he…
on ‘The Raid’ vs. ‘Versus’ star! Iko Uwais to take on Tak Sakaguchi in the martial arts thriller ‘Pendekar: Warrior’TIMUR WAS A SHAKEY CAMERA NIGHTMARE
on Meta madness! Eddie Peng joins Jason Statham in ‘Jason Statham Stole My Bike’ from ‘John Wick’ creator David LeitchLoved Munich. I do have to disagree with SS calling quits after it, because h…
Author Archives: Paul Bramhall
Rescue, The (2020) Review
Director: Dante Lam Cast: Eddie Peng, Xin Zhilei, Wang Yanlin, Lan Yingying, Wang Yutian, Xu Yang, Li Mincheng, Carlos Chan, Zhang Guoqiang, Guo Xiaodong, Wei Daxun Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall It would be Wu Jing’s 2015 production Wolf Warrior that kickstarted the latest era of ’Main melody’ movies, fully embodying President Xi’s speech from the previous year that filmmakers should make “patriotism the main theme of literary and … Continue reading
Fists, Kicks, & Kimchi: A History of the Korean Taekwon-Action Genre in the 1970’s – 1980’s
After going through a golden age in the 1960’s, Korean cinema went through one of its most challenging decades in the 70’s. Economic growth saw television sets make their way into most households and become the medium of choice, while the ushering in of the Yushin era saw president Park Chung-hee tighten his dictatorial grip on the country, imposing strict censorship on any creative work. After a decade that produced … Continue reading
Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024) Review
Director: Choi Dong-hun Cast: Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Kim Woo-Bin, Kim Tae-Ri, Lee Ha-Nee, Yum Jung-Ah, Jo Woo-Jin, Kim Eui-Sung, Jin Sun-Kyu, Wi Ji-woong, Lee Si-hoon Running Time: 123 min. By Paul Bramhall Korea’s premier blockbuster director Choi Dong-hoon returned with a bang in 2022 with Alienoid, a time travelling sci-fi genre mash-up that threw in everything from Shaw Brothers references to a John Woo homage. Shot as a 2-parter, the second … Continue reading
Blind War (2022) Review
Director: Suiqiang Huo Cast: Andy On Chi Kit, Waise Lee, Yang Xing, Hank Qi, Jane Wu, Vincent Matile, Cheng Si Han, Zhang Ya Qi, Dao Dao, Li Fa Guang, Alexandre Robillard Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall Is there any production looked down upon more in Asia than the Chinese web movie? Arguably no. Maybe even more so than Filipino romantic comedies. Rapidly made and rarely clocking in longer … Continue reading
I Did It My Way (2023) Review
Director: Jason Kwan Cast: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Gordon Lam, Cya Liu, Eddie Peng, Simon Yam, Chan Chun-Fung, Kent Cheng, Hedwig Tam, Lam Suet, Philip Keung, Mike Leeder Running Time: 115 min. By Paul Bramhall On paper at least, I Did It My Way feels like it should be the subtitle for a 4th instalment of The White Storm franchise. Like each instalment of the popular action thrillers, the focus is … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Eddie Peng, Gordon Lam, Jason Kwan, Kent Cheng Jak Si, Lam Suet, Mike Leeder, Simon Yam
When Taekwondo Strikes | aka Sting of the Dragon Masters (1973) Review
Director: Huang Feng Cast: Jhoon Rhee, Angela Mao, Anne Winston, Kenji Kazuma, Carter Wong, Wang In Sik, Sammo Hung, Andre Morgan, Chin Yuet Sang, Gam Kei Chu, Chan Chuen, Wilson Tong, Billy Chan, Hsu Hsia, Lam Ching Ying Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall If there was ever a decade when taekwondo had its chance to shine in Hong Kong action cinema, then it was the 1970’s. Following Bruce … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, Golden Harvest, News, Reviews
Tagged Andre Morgan, Angela Mao, Ann Winston, Billy Chan Wui Ngai, Carter Wong, Hsu Hsia, Huang Feng, Jhoon Rhee, Lam Ching-ying, Sammo Hung, Wang In Sik, Wilson Tong Wai-Shing, Yuen Biao
Untold Story 2, The (1998) Review
Director: Andy Ng Yiu-Kuen Cast: Emotion Cheung Kam Ching, Anthony Wong Chau Sang, Melvin Wong Gam San, Yeung Faan, Helena Law Lan, Jamie Luk Kim Ming, Pauline Suen Kai Kwan Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall In 1993 Herman Yau and Anthony Wong teamed up as director and star to create what’s considered to be the definitive Cat III movie in the form of The Untold Story. A grizzly … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Anthony Wong, Melvin Wong Kum-Sum
Hunt (2022) Review
Director: Lee Jung-Jae Cast: Lee Jung-Jae, Jung Woo-Sung, Jeon Hye-jin, Heo Sung-tae, Ko Yoon-Jung, Kim Jong-Soo, Jeong Man-Sik, Lim Hyung-Guk, Jung Kyung-Soon Running Time: 130 min. By Paul Bramhall As a leading man Lee Jung-jae has been a consistent presence in the Korean film industry ever since his debut with The Young Man in 1994 at 21 years old. While many actors harbour a curiosity to direct, it’s still a rarity to … Continue reading
12.12: The Day (2023) Review
Director: Kim Seong-su Cast: Hwang Jung-min, Jung Woo-Sung, Lee Sung-Min, Park Hae-Joon, Kim Sung-Kyun, Jeong Man-Sik, Jung Hae-In, Nam Yun-Ho, Jeong Dong-Hwan Running Time: 141 min. By Paul Bramhall When a country goes through a period of turmoil and trauma, it’s always interesting to see how much time passes in order for those feelings to be collectively processed, arriving at a point where the events in question lose enough of … Continue reading
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2021) Review
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour Cast: Jeon Jong-seo, Kate Hudson, Ed Skrein, Evan Whitten, Craig Robinson, Cory Roberts Running Time: 106 min. By Paul Bramhall When it comes to the age-old question of which Asian actors should try their hand at Hollywood, my usual response is to ask why they’d need to in the first place, however even in the 2020’s Hollywood remains a kind of validation in the world of … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews
Tagged Jeon Jong-seo
The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell (2023) Review
Director: Herman Yau Cast: Louis Koo, Lau Ching-Wan, Aaron Kwok, Caiyu Yang, Gallen Lo, Tse Kwan-ho, Alex Fong Chung-sun, Power Chan, Timmy Hung, Lam Suet Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall Ten years after the release of 2013’s The White Storm, the late Benny Chan’s divisive homage to the heroic bloodshed genre, it’s a safe bet that no one was expecting it to become a trilogy. However in 2023 … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Aaron Kwok, Alex Fong Chung Sun, Herman Yau, Lam Suet, Lau Ching-Wan (Sean Lau), Louis Koo
Believer 2 (2023) Review
Director: Baek Jong-Yeol Cast: Cho Jin-Woong, Cha Seung-Won, Han Hyo-Joo, Oh Seung-Hoon, Kim Dong-Young, Lee Joo-Young, Kang Seung-hyun, Jung Joon-won, Tzi Ma, Andreas Fronk Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall The decision to remake Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To’s 2013 crime thriller Drug War as a Korean production would prove to be a winning one when Believer was released in 2018. While the original was To’s first venture to … Continue reading
The War God | aka Calamity (1976) Review
Director: Chen Hung-Min Cast: Ku Ming-Lun, Tse Ling-Ling, Chen Yu-Hsin, Lung Fei, Cindy Tang Hsin, Tseng Chao Runnning Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall The chances are if someone was feeling in the mood for some kaiju action, the go-to country would be Japan. The likes of Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidora have practically come to define the genre, and of course the word ‘kaiju’ itself is Japanese, directly translating … Continue reading
Blood and Steel (1990) Review
Director: Mark Swetland Cast: David Male, Joanne Gagliardo, Elaine Arnone, Diane Zdarsky, John Raszeja, David Bobik, Rick Swetland, Ron Detrick, Scott Sehl, Jim Reeb Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall One side effect from the emergence of boutique Blu-ray labels over the last 10 years, is that we’ve seen a deluge of increasingly obscure and “lost” low budget productions being given the deluxe release treatment, some of them even … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, Bruceploitation, News, Other Movies, Reviews
Shaolin Kids, The (1975) Review
Director: Joseph Kuo Cast: Polly Shang-Kwan, Chang I Fei, Tin Peng, Carter Wong, Kam Kong, Yee Yuen, Chang Yi, Jimmy Lee Fong, Cliff Lok, Chen Chiu, Sham Chin Bo Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall Like every genre kung-fu cinema has continued to evolve throughout the years, and perhaps no decade was more transformative than the 70’s. While the swordsplay dominated wuxia genre still ruled the roost at the … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Carter Wong, Chang Yi, Cliff Lok, Joseph Kuo, Kam Kong, Polly Shang-Kwan, Sham Chin Bo, Tin Peng
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