Author Archives: Paul Bramhall

Tracer | aka Truy Sát (2016) Review

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Truy Sat" Vietnamese Theatrical Poster

Director: Cuong Ngo Cast: Trung Ngoc Anh, Lamou Vissay, Marcus Guilhem, Maria Tran, Trung Ly, Thien Nguyen, Mike Leeder, Antony Nguyen, Hieu Nguyen, Cuong Seven Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall In 2007, Thailand was still riding the coat tails of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, a double whammy of action brutality, that seemed to proclaim the South East Asian kingdom as the new home of bone crunching martial arts cinema. However with Tony … Continue reading →

Posted in All, News, Reviews, Vietnamese | Tagged , , , , , , |

Criminal (2016) Review

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Criminal" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Ariel Vromen Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, Gal Gadot, Michael Pitt, Jordi Mollà, Ryan Reynolds, Antje Traue, Scott Adkins, Amaury Nolasco Running Time: 113 min. By Paul Bramhall When not on duty in superhero movies, Commissioner Gordon, the father of Superman, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, and Weapon XI, got together in London to make Criminal. The above mesh-up of DC and Marvel luminaries is of … Continue reading →

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

Valley of the Double Dragon | aka Fist Fighter (1974) Review

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Paul Bramhall

AKA: Kung Fu of Taekwondo Director: Ulysses Au-Yeung Jun Producer: Lu Ching-Hang Cast: Kim Jin-pal, Sylvester Williams, Lin Chen Chi, Suen Yuet, Fang Mien, Liu Ping, Ma Cheung Running Time: 88 min.  By Paul Bramhall When it comes to the old-school kung fu genre, it’s fairly standard for titles to sometimes go under different aliases. However Valley of the Double Dragon must surely hold the award for the number of different names it … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

The Real Hard Target: Martial Arts Cinema and Piracy

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Paul Bramhall

September 2016 saw the release of the Scott Adkins action vehicle Hard Target 2, a sequel to Hong Kong auteur John Woo’s 1993 Hollywood debut. Just like any fan of action cinema, I was eager to check it out, and as a writer for cityonfire.com, I was just as much looking forward to giving the British stars latest leading role the review treatment. Writing for a website has its perks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, News |

Hard Target 2 (2016) Review

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Hard Target 2" Theatrical Poster

Director: Roel Reiné Producer: Chris Lowenstein Cast: Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Rhona Mitra, Tempera Morrison, Ann Truong, Adam Saunders, Jamie Timony, Pter Hardy, Sean Keenan, Troy Honeysett, JeeJa Yanin Running Time: 104 min. By Paul Bramhall As a child of the early 80’s I, and most likely many others, had my first exposure to John Woo from his 1993 Hollywood debut Hard Target. A tale which see’s Jean Claude Van Damme … Continue reading →

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

Blood of Dragon Peril (1979) Review

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Blood of Dragon Peril" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: A Man with Seven Faces Director: Kim Seon-gyeong Writer: Yoon Sam-yook Cast: Chang Il-do, Choi Min-kyu, Kwon Il-soo, Robby Ban, Edie Wang, Judy Suh, Edwin Lau Running Time: 94 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to having a soft-spot for kung fu movies that have grammatically challenged titles, and Blood of Dragon Peril is definitely up there with the best of them. “Blood of what?” you may ask, well, Dragon … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Godfather’s Daughter Mafia Blues, The (1991) Review

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"The Godfather’s Daughter Mafia Blues" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Fung Hak On Cast: Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Yukari Oshima, Alex Man Chi Leung, Dick Wei, Ken Lo, Wong Yu, Leung Kar Yan, Tai Bo, Anthony Carpio, Chan Daat Gong, Benny Lai Keung Kuen, Chow Kong, Chu Tau, Mark King, Foo Wang Tat Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall The Godfather’s Daughter Mafia Blues, besides having a title that resembles a Bob Dylan song gone wrong, rarely seems … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Sadako vs Kayako | aka The Ring vs The Grudge (2016) Review

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Sadako vs Kayako" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Ring vs Ju-On Director: Koji Shiraishi Cast: Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Masahiro Komoto, Masanobu Ando Running Time: 99 min. By Paul Bramhall Starting any review of Sadako vs Kayako might as well begin with a recap of the two titular horror movie franchises that they’re a part of. As the cursed spirit of the Ringu series, this installment notches up Sadako’s twelfth onscreen appearance (soon to be … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Phone, The (2015) Revew

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"The Phone" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Bong-Joo Cast: Son Hyun-Joo, Uhm Ji-Won, Bae Sung-Woo, Hwang Bo-Ra, Roh Jeong-Eui, Jang In-Sub, Jo Dal-Hwan, Lee Sheol-Min, Park Ji-So, Hwang Suk-Jung Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall The Phone joins the ranks of that great Korean tradition – the movie which contains something about a phone in its title. Alongside the 2002 horror movie, which went for the simplistic Phone, and the 2009 thriller, which decided … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Train to Busan (2016) Review

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Train to Busan" Theatrical Poster

Director: Yeon Sang-Ho Writer: Park Joo-suk Cast: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-Mi, Choi Woo-Sik, Ahn So-Hee, Kim Soo-Ahn Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall Korea’s film industry is one which is rarely associated with the medium of animation, however one name that may change all that is director Yeon Sang-ho, who’s been successfully carving out a name for himself within the animated arena. His hard hitting features like … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Deadly Kick, The | aka Dragon King (1976) Review

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"The Deadly Kick" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Rival Director: Go Yeong-nam Co-director: Lo Lieh Cast: Lo Lieh, Bobby Kim, Pearl Lin Yin Zhu, Han Mi-ja, Im Eun-ju, Kim Ki-ju, Jin Bong-jin, Gam Kei Chu, Bruce Cheung Mong, Chan Feng Chen, Chiu Chun Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall In 1972 the Shaw Brothers production King Boxer was released in the US, under the title of Five Fingers of Death, and is largely considered to … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Keeper of Darkness (2015) Review

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Keeper of Darkness" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Nick Cheung Writer: Yeung Sin-ling Cast: Nick Cheung, Amber Kuo, Louis Cheung, Sisley Choi, Xing Yu, Philip Keung, Karena Lam Running Time: 103 min. By Paul Bramhall Nick Cheung has been a presence within the Hong Kong movie industry for over 25 years, but it’s his recent collaborations with director Dante Lam that really brought him to the fore. With scene stealing turns in Beast Stalker, Stool Pigeon, Unbeatable, … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Inside Men: The Original (2015) Review

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Inside Men: The Original" Theatrical Poster

Director: Woo Min-Ho Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Cho Seung-Woo, Baek Yoon-Sik, Lee Kyoung-Young, Kim Hong-Fa, Jo Jae-Yun, Bae Sung-Woo, Kim Dae-Myung, Jo Woo-Jin, Yoo Jae-Myung Running Time: 180 min. By Paul Bramhall Based on a web-comic by Yoon Tae-ho, who was also responsible for the web-comic behind the excellent Moss, when Inside Men hit Korean cinema screens in 2015, its tale of political corruption strongly resonated with audiences, making it one … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Mozu: The Movie (2015) Review

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Eiichiro Hasumi Writer: Go Osaka, Kosuke Nishi Producer: Mamoru Inoue, Akira Morii Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kitano, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yoko Maki, Yusuke Iseya, Tori Matsuzaka, Hiroki Hasegawa, Fumiyo Kohinata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsushi Ito Running Time: 116 min. By Paul Bramhall Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano is easily one of the most recognizable faces in Japanese cinema, directing a number of movies that are rightfully considered masterpieces. When he acts, it’s usually … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Blood Child | aka Five Fingers of Steel (1982) Review

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Blood Child" DVD Cover

AKA: 5 Fingers of Steel Director: Vincent Leung Cast: Hwang Jang Lee, Yen Shi Kwan, Kwan Yung Moon, Lee Yi Yi, Yuen Mao, Chu Tiet Wo, Chan Lau Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall While Blood Child without doubt belongs in the category of being an old-school kung fu movie, there’s also a few elements to it that undeniably set it apart from being just another cookie cutter fight … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 32
  6. 33
  7. 34
  8. 35
  9. 36
  10. 37
  11. 38
  12. 39
  13. 40
  14. 41
  15. 42
  16. 43
  17. 44
  18. 45