Author Archives: Paul Bramhall

8th Night, The (2021) Review

Director: Kim Tae-Hyung Writer: Kim Tae-Hyung Cast: Lee Sung-Min, Park Hae-Joon, Kim You-Jung, Nam Da-Reum, Han Sang-Chul, Lee Eol Running Time: 150 min. By Paul Bramhall The streaming service Netflix is increasingly becoming the platform for new Korean horror to debut on, with the likes of #Alive, The Call, and Svaha: The Sixth Finger all premiering with just a few clicks of the remote over the last couple of years. … Continue reading

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Saint of Gamblers, The (1995) Review

Director: Wong Jing Cast: Eric Kot, Chingmy Yau, Ben Lam, Ng Man Tat, Diana Pang Dang, Shing Fui On, Ashton Chen, Bobby Yip, Nat Chan Pak Cheung, Hui Si Man, Pauline Yeung, Donnie Yen, Corey Yuen Kwai, Andy Cheng Kai-Chung Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall While the Hong Kong gambling movie has been around for several decades, chances are if you ask someone to name one of them, the default answer will be the 1989 classic God … Continue reading

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Idol (2019) Review

Director: Lee Su-jin Cast: Han Suk-Kyu, Sol Kyung-Gu, Chun Woo-Hee, Yoo Seung-Mok, Joe Byeong-Gyu, Kim Jae-Hwa, Hyun Bong-Sik, Jo Dae-Hee, Kang Mal-Geum Running Time: 144 min. By Paul Bramhall The topic of political corruption has always provided fertile ground for filmmakers in Korea, almost to the point that if a politician turns up in a Korean movie, it’s a safe bet that they’ll either end up corrupt (if they’re not … Continue reading

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Double Tap (2000) Review

Director: Lo Chi-Leung Cast: Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, Alex Fong Chung Sun, Ruby Wong Cheuk Ling, Monica Chan Fat Yung, Vincent Kok Tak Chiu, Joseph Cheung Man Kwong Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall There can be no denying that the Hong Kong film industry was in a miserable place at the turn of the century. There were 2 key factors behind the slump, the first being that many … Continue reading

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Xtreme | aka Xtremo (2021) Review

Director: Daniel Benmayor Cast: Teo García, Óscar Jaenada, Óscar Casas, Andrea Duro, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Alberto Jo Lee, Luis Zahera, Juan Diego, Andrés Herrera, Nao Albet, Cesar Bandera, Isa Montalbán, Joel Bramona Running Time: 111 min.  By Paul Bramhall For the past 20 years fans of the Hong Kong action genre have been asking which country is going to take on the mantle of creating martial arts infused slices of cinematic … Continue reading

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Take Back (2021) Review

Director: Christian Sesma Cast: Gillian White, Michael Jai White, Mickey Rourke, Paul Sloan, Jessica Uberuaga, James Russo, Nick Vallelonga, Jay Montalvo, Chris Browning Running Time: 89 min. By Paul Bramhall I’m sure every fan of the American DTV action genre has at some point asked themselves “what could be better than watching Michael Jai White kicking people in the face?” The star of such DTV action classics as Undisputed 2: Last Man … Continue reading

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Voice of Silence (2020) Review

Director: Hong Eui-jung Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Jae-myung, Moon Seung-A, Yu Seong-Ju, Shin Tae-Yang, Hanna Kim Running Time: 99 min.  By Paul Bramhall  Back in the early to mid-noughties, a period popularly known as the Korean Wave, the countries film industry had a knack for cranking out productions that seamlessly blended genres to create a number of unique cinematic experiences. From the sci-fi zaniness of Save the Green Planet, to … Continue reading

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Hallyu in Hollywood: Koreans in America in the 1970’s – 1990’s

Korean cinema has come a long way since the beginning of the Korean Wave in the late 90’s and early 00’s, culminating in 2020 when Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite cleaned up at the Oscars. Of course Koreans have been present in Hollywood before Parasite gained global attention, with the likes of Lee Byung-hun (Terminator Genisys, The Magnificent Seven), Bae Doona (Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending), and Choi Min-sik (Lucy) all taking on … Continue reading

Posted in Features, News |

Steel Fisted Dragon, The (1977) Review

AKA: A Fistful of Dragon Director: Iksan Lahardi Cast: Steve Lee, Enden Marlinda, Ronald Kansil, Vita Fatimah, Chan Lau, Johnny Hong Kong Running Time: 78 min. Paul Bramhall In 1977 the Bruceploitation genre was already alive and well, with guys like Bruce Li bursting onto the scene with 1975’s New Game of Death and Bruce Le unleashing digit related mayhem in 1976’s Bruce’s Deadly Fingers. While the name Bruce combined … Continue reading

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Atomic Eden (2015) Review

Director: Nico Sentner Cast: Fred Williamson, Mike Möller, Hazuki Kato, Everett Ray Aponte, Lorenzo Lamas, Wolfgang Riehm, Nico Sentner, Dominik Starck, Josephine Hies, Jens Nier, Martin Wunderlich, Carolina Rath, Alexander Mack Running Time: 85 min.  By Paul Bramhall There’s a certain recipe for making action B-movies in the 21st century. Step one usually involves finding a star from the same genre who was popular in the 80’s and 90’s and has … Continue reading

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Ninja Champion | aka Poisonous Rose Stripping the Night (1986) Review

Director: Kim Si-hyun Co-director: Godfrey Ho Cast: Choe Eun-hye, Im Ja-ho, Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Baek Hwang-ki, Richard Harrison, Bruce Baron, Pierre Tremblay, Yoon Yang-Ha, Park Se-bum Running Time: 87 min.  By Paul Bramhall There are only 2 types of people in the world who’d want to watch Ninja Champion – those who enjoy cut ‘n’ paste Godfrey Ho ninja flicks, and those who want to check out an obscure … Continue reading

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Crazy Samurai Musashi | aka Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 (2020) Review

Crazy Samurai Musashi | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

Director: Yuji Shimomura Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Kento Yamazaki, Yousuke Saito, Ben Hiura, Arata Yamanaka, Fuka Hara, Kosei Kimura, Nobu Morimoto, Akihiko Sai, Masaaki Takarai Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall Crazy Samurai Musashi is one of those movies that’s journey to the screen is just as interesting as the movie itself, spanning over 10 years before it eventually arrived in 2020. Initially announced as a collaboration between Japanese action … Continue reading

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Deliver Us from Evil: Final Cut (2020) Review

Director: Hong Won-Chan Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Lee Jung-Jae, Park Jung-Min, Park So-Yi, Choi Hee-Seo, Park Myoung-Hoon, Oh Dae-Hwan, Shim Young-Eun, Kim Sung-Gon Running Time: 108 min. By Paul Bramhall Seven years have passed since Korean thespians Lee Jung-jae and Hwang Jung-min starred together in 2013’s New World in which they played sworn brothers, with one a no-nonsense cop deep undercover, and the other a live wire unpredictable gangster. In 2020 … Continue reading

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Keys to the Heart (2018) Review

Director: Choi Sung-Hyun Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Park Jung-Min, Youn Yuh-Jung, Han Ji-Min, Choi Ri, Kim Sung-Ryoung, Moon Sook, Hwang Suk-Jung, Lee Joo-Young, Baek Hyun-Jin Running Time: 120 min. By Paul Bramhall Stories about washed up boxers have been around for almost as long as cinema itself, and the Korean movie industry is no exception. From Choi Min-sik in Crying Fist, to So Ji-sub in Always, and more recently Um Tae-goo … Continue reading

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Tai Chi Boxer | aka Tai Chi II (1996) Review

Director: Yuen Woo Ping Co-director: Cheung Sing Yim Cast: Wu Jing, Christy Chung Lai Tai, Yu Hai, Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Billy Chow Bei Lei, Sibelle Hu Hui Zhong, Darren Shahlavi, Ji Chun Hua, Jin De-Mao Running Time: 96 min.  By Paul Bramhall Most discussions that see Tai Chi Boxer mentioned tend to involve the wire-fu craze that dominated the Hong Kong martial arts genre in the first half of the … Continue reading

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