Author Archives: Paul Bramhall

Dear Stranger (2025) Review

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Tetsuya Mariko Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Gwei Lun-Mei, Christopher Mann, Everest Talde, Fiona Fu, Mia Reece, James Chu, Aitor Martin, Lanett Tachel, Matt Golden Running Time: 138 min. By Paul Bramhall The plot of a missing child is a staple of the thriller genre, however with 2025’s Dear Stranger director and writer Tetsuya Mariko eschews the thriller route, instead opting to use the scenario as a catalyst for framing the … Continue reading →

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Prisoner of War (2025) Review

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Louis Mandylor Cast: Scott Adkins, Louis Mandylor, Shane Kosugi, Peter Shinkoda, Donald Cerrone, Masanori Mimoto, Michael Copon, Michael Rene Walton, Gary Cairns, Sol Eugenio, Kansuke Yokoi, Atsuki Kashio Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall Under any other circumstance if someone told me in 2025 that they’d just watched a Philippines shot jungle actioner set during World War II, my assumption would be that another Bruno Mattei helmed Italian … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

Affinity (2025) Review

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Brandon Slagle Cast: Marko Zaror, Louis Mandylor, Brahim Chab, Brooke Ence, Jane Mirro, Elliott Allison Running Time: 81 min. By Paul Bramhall At the risk of showing my age, I’ve been following the trajectory of the Chilean Dragon Marko Zaror ever since he landed on action fans radars with the release of Kiltro in 2006, almost 20 years ago. A product of his native Chile, in the succeeding years … Continue reading →

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Hidden Face (2024) Review

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Dae-woo Cast: Song Seung-heon, Cho Yeo-jeong, Park Ji-Hyun, Park Ji-Young, Park Sung-Geun Running Time: 115 min. By Paul Bramhall  Hidden Face marks the return of a long missing in action genre for not only Korea’s film industry, but cinema in general – the erotic thriller. While the jury is still out on if we’re currently in a new Puritan age of cinema, what can’t be denied is that … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Shadow’s Edge, The (2025) Review

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Larry Yang Cast: Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Zhang Zifeng, Ci Sha, Lin Qiu-Nan, Wen Jun-Hui, Yuen Qiu Running Time: 143 min.  By Paul Bramhall Being a Jackie Chan fan in 2025 can be a divisive affair to say the least. There are those fans who still see the appeal in what he does, whether it be bumbling around with CGI panda cubs, or passing himself off as a … Continue reading →

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Devils (2023) Review

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Jae-Hoon Cast: Jang Dong-Yoon, Oh Dae-Hwan, Choi Gwi-Hwa, Jang Jae-Ho, Son Jong-Hak, Shin Seung-Hwan, Yoon Byung-Hee, Ji Nam-Hyuk, Lee Sang-Won Running Time: 106 min. By Paul Bramhall  The body swap trope certainly isn’t a new one, and in Korean cinema there have already been plenty of examples. From Shin Ha-kyun and Byun Hee-bong in 2007’s brain swapping thriller The Devil’s Game, to Jin Young and Park Sung-woong as … Continue reading →

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My Daughter Is a Zombie (2025) Review

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Pil Kam-sung Cast: Cho Jung-Seok, Lee Jung-Eun, Choi Yoo-Ri, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Yoon Kyung-Ho Running Time: 113 min. By Paul Bramhall While surrounded by hordes of the undead in the middle of their Seoul neighbourhood, a father and his teenage daughter attempt to make their escape, the father telling the daughter to stay put while he makes a break for their car parked nearby. Successfully getting behind the wheel, its … Continue reading →

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Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024) Review

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Yugo Sakamoto Cast: Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsuko Maeda, Atomu Mizuishi  Running Time: 112 min.  By Paul Bramhall Whatever your opinion of director and writer Yugo Sakamoto, what can’t be denied is that few filmmakers are keeping grounded martial arts movies alive quite like he is. In the 4 years spanning 2021 to 2024 his Baby Assassins trilogy has cemented a modern-day iron triangle of action goodness … Continue reading →

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Invincible Swordsman (2025) Review

Posted on August 4, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Luo Yi Wei Cast: Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Tim Huang Xiyan, Xuan Lu, Terence Yin, Sammo Hung, Yun Qianqian Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall When Brigitte Lin was cast as the character Invincible Asia in 1992’s Swordsman 2, few could have predicted the role would become so iconic, leading Lin to spend the last 3 years of her acting career as a mainstay of the new wave wuxia … Continue reading →

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Wall to Wall (2025) Review

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Paul Bramhall
"Wall to Wall" Netflix Poster

Director: Kim Tae-joon Cast: Kang Ha-neul, Seo Hyun-woo, Yeom Hye-ran, Kim Hyun-Jung, Jeon Jin-Oh, Park Sung-Il, Yoon Jung-Il, Kim Yoon-Jin, Lee Jong-Goo, Na Ho-Sook Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall Wall to Wall, or 84 Square Metres as its Korean title directly translates to, fits into that distinctly 21st century genre of homeowner anxiety. In Korea such productions usually find themselves set in one of the myriad of towering … Continue reading →

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Nocturnal (2025) Review

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Jin-Hwang Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Kim Nam-Gil, Yoo Da-In, Jeong Man-Sik, Im Sung-Jae, Lee Hye-Soo Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall Nocturnal dares to ask the question, what if Ha Jung-woo hadn’t become a mainstay of Hallmark channel style ‘based on a true story’ movies in the 2020’s, and instead went back to the kind of gritty roles he frequented in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s with … Continue reading →

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Ziam (2025) Review

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kulp Kaljareuk Cast: Prin Suparat, Nuttanicha Dungwattanawanich, Vayla Wanvayla, Johnny Anfone Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall While 2003’s Ong Bak launched a Muay Thai movie boom out of Thailand that lasted for much of the 2000’s, towards the end of the decade filmmakers had turned to increasingly creative ways to portray the powerful martial art onscreen. Fireball gave us Muay Thai blended with basketball, Raging Phoenix introduced … Continue reading →

Posted in All, News, Reviews, Thai |

Ghost Killer (2024) Review

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kensuke Sonomura Cast: Akari Takaishi, Mario Kuroba, Masanori Mimoto, Sora Inoue, Akaka Higashino, Naohiro Kawamoto, Hidenobu Abera, Naoto Kuratomi, Satoshi Kibe Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall A lone figure in the darkness of a deserted marketplace alley faces off against 3 masked attackers, fending them off set to the rustle of their clothes, the shuffle of their footwork, and a flurry of quick, precise strikes. Within seconds … Continue reading →

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Revelations (2025) Review

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Paul Bramhall
"Revelations" Netflix Poster

Director: Yeon Sang-ho Cast: Ryu Jun-yeol, Shin Min-jae, Shin Hyun-been, Han Ji-hyun, Kim Bo-Min, Kim Do-Young, Moon Ju-Yeon, Bae Youn-Kyu, Oh Chi-Woon, Woo Kang-Min Running Time: 122 min. By Paul Bramhall The journey of Yeon Sang-ho as a filmmaker has been an interesting one. Gaining attention amongst cineastes in the early 2010’s for his gritty feature length animations like King of Pigs and The Fake, it was his transition to … Continue reading →

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Hi-Five (2025) Review

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kang Hyeong-Cheol Cast: Lee Jae-in, Ra Mi-ran, Oh Jung-se, Park Jin-young, Ahn Jae-hong, Kim Hee-won, Shin Gu, Yoo Ah-in, Choi Eun-kyeong, Na Jin-su, Jin Hee-kyung Running Time: 119 min.  By Paul Bramhall Where audiences suffering more from superhero fatigue in 2025 than they were in 2022? It’s a question worth pondering, since the 3 years in-between is how long the Korean superhero comedy Hi-Five has sat on the shelf. … Continue reading →

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