-
-
Newest Comments
on Is Tom the only megastar who does his own stunts? Watch the New Trailer for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’Lets hope MI8 is a step up from 7. MI 5 and 6 are near almost top-tier (De Pa…
on You guys ready to Jet? Full details for Shout Studios’ 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray set for ‘The Jet Li Collection’Part of me wants to see High Risk on 4k with that Meltdown 'Van Damme dub' th…
on John Woo’s action classic goes hard! Restored ‘Hard Boiled’ is coming to Cannes, Digital and Physical from Shout!Great news! I would like to see it here in the UK as well, maybe 88 Films or…
on Striking Rescue (2024) ReviewI rented this, and it was worth a watch. The action is nice and the showdown…
on Can Spike Lee take an Akira Kurosawa flick higher? Watch the Trailer for ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ starring Denzel WashingtonNick, cheers. Fixed =)
on Can Spike Lee take an Akira Kurosawa flick higher? Watch the Trailer for ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ starring Denzel WashingtonCorrection: Old Boy was remade in 2013, not 2023.
on Billy Zane, Zach Roerig and Scott Adkins’ ‘Day of Reckoning’ NOW on Digital! Watch a New Extended PreviewHow much screen time does confederate white supremacist supporter Trace Adkin…
on Get your kicks on Route 666! Scott Adkins attacks Marko Zaror in the New Trailer for Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s ‘Diablo’the movie looks good, the trailer is awful. had to stop it midway to avoid be…
on Havoc (2025) ReviewThanks for continuing to visit COF Will! I felt the same way, the action kick…
on Get your kicks on Route 666! Scott Adkins attacks Marko Zaror in the New Trailer for Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s ‘Diablo’This trailer has me pumped. Can't wait
on Havoc (2025) ReviewI've been reading this site for years. Really appreciate the reviews. I'd say…
on COF Presents: The Legend of the The Seven Little Fortunes[…] COF Presents: The Legend of the The Seven Little Fortunes | cityonf…
on Heroes of the East | aka Shaolin Challenges Ninja (1978) ReviewLiterally just finished watching this for the first time - catching up with m…
on Havoc (2025) ReviewThat anonymous guy is an idiot
on Someone call the 🔥 department! Ringo Lam’s seminal Hong Kong actioner ‘City on Fire’ arriving on 4K Ultra HD in JuneThis is absolutely beautiful. I use to dawg on shout factory artwork but damm…
Author Archives: Paul Bramhall
Magic Crane, The (1993) Review
Director: Benny Chan Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Anita Mui Yim-Fong, Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam, Damian Lau Chung-Yan, Lawrence Ng Kai-Wah, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Zhang Tielin Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall In 2017 the late director Benny Chan unleashed Meow onto the world, the tale of Louis Koo and an oversized ginger cat from space, a production which had much of the action maestro’s fanbase scratching their heads as to … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Anita Mui Yim Fong, Benny Chan Muk Sing, Damian Lau, Norman Chu, Rosamund Kwan, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Revolver (2024) Review
Director: Oh Seung-wook Cast: Jeon Do-Yeon, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Joon-Han, Kim Jong-Soo, Jeong Man-Sik, Jeon Hye-Jin, Lee Jung-Jae, Jung Jae-Young, Ma Woong-Kyu Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall Revolver marks the third directorial outing for Oh Seung-wook, and while there’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary about a director making their third feature, what makes Seung-wook’s case relatively unique is that it’s taken him the best part of quarter … Continue reading
Harbin (2024) Review
Director: Woo Min-Ho Cast: Hyun-Bin, Park Jeong-Min, Jo Woo-Jin, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Lee Dong-Wook, Park Hoon, Yoo Jae-Myung, Lily Franky, Kim Ji-Oh, Lee Tae-Hyeong, Ahn Se-Ho Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s been no shortage of action tinged spy thrillers set during Japan’s colonisation of Korea in the early 20th century, with productions like Assassination, The Age of Shadows, and Phantom being superlative examples of the genre, but few … Continue reading
Prosecutor, The (2024) Review
Director: Donnie Yen Co-directror: Ho Pong Mak Cast: Donnie Yen, Julian Cheung, Shirley Chan, Kent Cheng, Michael Hui, Ray Lui, Mark Cheng, Kang Yu, Pak Hon Chu, Adam Pak, Kong Lau, Liza Wang Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall Is it just me or is Donnie Yen making a bit of a niche for himself riffing on Yuen Biao’s 1980’s era? During the 2010’s we got a 2-part remake … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Donnie Yen, Julian Cheung, Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Michael Hui Kun Man, Ray Lui Leung Wai
Lucky Seven | aka 7 Ninja Kids (1986) Review
Director: Chao Chen-Kuo Cast: Chiao Pei, Yang Wei-De, Lin Tung-An, Wang Chi-Cheng, Cheng Wei-Pai, Chang Chai-Ming, Hsu Yu-Ta, Hsiao Hung-Me, Eugene Thomas, Chang Yi-Teng Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall Spend long enough in the niche genre that is kung-fu cinema, and you’ll eventually find yourself exploring some of the more obscure corners of what’s on offer. One such corner is that of the Taiwanese kids kung-fu movie, a … Continue reading
Legend, A (2024) Review
Director: Stanley Tong Cast: Jackie Chan, Bextiyar Gülnezer, Yixing Zhang, Aarif Lee Zhi-ting, Chen Li, Max Huang, Kim Hee-seon, Shawn Dou Yecheng Zheng, Ray Lui Leung Wai Running Time: 130 min. By Paul Bramhall Back in 2021 I wrote a retrospective on Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong called ‘Giving the People What They Want’, framed from the perspective of how their collaborations as director and star always appealed to the … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Aarif Lee, Kim Hee-Seon, Ray Lui Leung Wai, Stanley Tong
Black Cat II: The Assassination of Boris Yeltsin (1992) Review
Director: Stephen Shin Cast: Jade Leung, Robin Shou, Zoltan Buday, Bob Wilde, Alexander Skorokhod, Tatiana Chekhova, Mike Miller, Jack Wong Wai-Leung, Wan Seung-Lam Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall Despite Black Cat’s middling box office results, it wasn’t enough to deter D&B Films from continuing to push Jade Leung as a bankable action lead for the 1990’s, and just a year later we’d get a sequel in the form … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Jade Leung Ching, Robin Shou, Stephen Shin, Steve Brettingham
Beheaded 1000, The (1993) Review
AKA: The Executioner Director: Ting Shan-Hsi Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Siu-Ho, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Monica Chan Fat-Yung, Wu Ma, Pauline Wong Siu-Fung, Sun Ya-Tung, Shen Hai-Rong Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall One of the more intriguing propositions to come out of the early 90’s, on the surface at least The Beheaded 1000 offers up a Taiwanese take on the Hong Kong blend of wuxia and fantasy that … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Chin Siu Ho, Ding Sin Saai, Jimmy Wang Yu, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Pauline Wong Siu Fung, Wu Ma
Striking Rescue (2024) Review
Director: Siyu Cheng Cast: Tony Jaa, Xing Yu, Kaho Hung, Philip Keung, Peng Bo, Yu Bolin, Wang Chenxin, Chen Duo Yi Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall Action cinema is always evolving, and whenever it’s discussed Hong Kong’s golden era deservedly casts a long shadow. For a long time fans have lamented the gradual decline of the territories output, an inevitability that’s down to a number of disparate reasons, … Continue reading
Devils Stay (2024) Review
Director: Hyeon Moon-seob Cast: Park Shin-Yang, Lee Min-Ki, Lee Re, Won Mi-won, Yoon Jong Seok, Yoo Sun-ho, Shim So-young Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall Ever since 2015’s The Priests Korean cinema has had bit of a thing going on with, well, priests. While Jang Jae-hyon’s debut served up its holy protagonists in the context of the exorcism genre, since then we’ve had MMA priests fighting demons in The Divine … Continue reading
Goose Boxer | aka Shaolins Tough Kid (1978) Review
Director: Tai Si-Fu Cast: Charles Heung Wah-Keung, Lee Hoi-Sang, Phillip Ko Fei, Tin Ching, Addy Sung Gam-Loi, Chan Lap-Ban, Lee Chun-Wa, Wong Mei, Cheung Sin-Ming Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall This year marks the 10th anniversary of my relationship with Goose Boxer, which I confess has been a fairly one-sided affair. Purchased as part of a 9-movie DVD set called Brooklyn Zu Volume 1, I picked up the … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Charles Heung, Lee Hoi-Sang, Philip Ko Fei
Secret Executioners | aka Trouble-Solving Broker (1982) Review
Director: Lee Doo-Yong Co-director: Godfrey Ho Cast: Shin Woo-chul, Hwang Jang Lee, Jim Norris, Kwon Il-soo, Min Bok-gi, Park Dong-ryong Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall It remains one of the greatest travesties in Korean cinema that director Lee Doo-yong’s The Trouble-Solving Broker is referenced in 99% of English language content as “another one of those Godfrey Ho cut and paste jobs.” The real tragedy is that it’s also … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, Korean, News, Reviews
Tagged Godfrey Ho, Hwang Jang Lee, Kwon Il-soo, Lee Doo-yong
Film Safari Ghana (2024) Review
Director: Andrew Leavold Cast: Andrew Leavold, Samuel K. Nkansah (aka Ninja), Joseph Osei, Emmanuel Afriyie Running Time: 86 min. By Paul Bramhall While in his native Australia Andrew Leavold may be known for many things – former cult video store owner, punk band frontman, Filipino cinema historian, sometime actor, and documentary filmmaker – internationally he’s likely to be remembered as the guy who directed 2013’s The Search for Weng Weng. … Continue reading
Tai Chi Master, The (2022) Review
Director: Lin Zhenzhao Cast: Wu Yue, Zhang Kai, Zhang Ming Can, Ada Liu, Zhang Chunzhong, Yu Hai, Lemon Li Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall During the Chinese web-movie boom of the 2010’s many of them were regarded as cheap and disposable entertainment, often justifiably so, with most of them falling either into the category of cheap kung-fu flick, or even cheaper monster movie. However it’s not an industry … Continue reading
100 Yards (2024) Review
Director: Xu Haofeng Co-director: Xu Junfeng Cast: Jacky Heung, Andy On, Bea Hayden Kuo, Li Yuan, Shiyi Tang, Kevin Lee, Brono Bajtala Running Time: 109 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s a strong argument to be had for Xu Haofeng being the greatest kung-fu cinema director of the 21st century. When Haofeng made his directorial debut with The Sword Identity in 2012 he was billed as the writer of Wong Kar-Wai’s … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews, Top 4 Featured
Tagged Andy On Chi Kit, Jacky Heung Cho, Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng
1 Comment