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on THESE GIRLS GOT BALLS! Watch the New Trailer for Stephen Chow’s ‘Kung Fu Soccer’The biggest hit for the summer in China, according to Variety. https://variet…
on THE PERFECT WEAPON IS BACK! Martial arts star Jeff Speakman talks about his comeback film ‘Lost Echoes’Jeff Speakman is undoubtedly one of the best martial artists of my lifetime.…
on Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025) ReviewThe movie should have been so much better. For me, the issue is really the ca…
on THE PERFECT WEAPON IS BACK! Martial arts star Jeff Speakman talks about his comeback film ‘Lost Echoes’This is great news... He is a great talent that due to politics we missed out…
on Phone, The (2015) RevewThe ending didn't make any sense. So he comes back from the future to save hu…
on Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025) ReviewI love this film. Saw it on an international flight and couldn’t wait to get…
on Chen Kuan-tai, martial artist and Shaw Brothers star of ‘Boxer from Shantung’ and ‘Flying Guillotine’, passes away at 80Absolute legend. Boxer from Shantung, Blood Brothers and Executioners of Shao…
on Chen Kuan-tai, martial artist and Shaw Brothers star of ‘Boxer from Shantung’ and ‘Flying Guillotine’, passes away at 80RIP to a legendary OG and one of my favorite Shaw Actors.
on This collection is FAT! Details and Trailers for Shout’s ‘Chow Yun-fat Collection’ on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray‘Diary of a Big Man’ should be in any discerning HK cinema fans Chow Yun Fat…
on PERFECT!!! Watch the NEW action packed Trailer for Kitao Sakura’s star-studded ‘Street Fighter’ live-action filmOkay this new Trailer was cooking. I love it
on Limited Time Offer!!! Get a FREE Golden Harvest-Inspired Keychain with Any Order or Pre-order!Can't wait for these Keychains, want the SHAW BROTHERS, OCEAN SHORES & GO…
on This collection is FAT! Details and Trailers for Shout’s ‘Chow Yun-fat Collection’ on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayI’m pleased with Eighth Happiness and City War being included. I haven’t seen…
on I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! Watch the Trailers for Arrow’s ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ Trilogy arriving on 4K UHD in OctoberI thought for sure I'd seen one of these in the past but even watching the tr…
on This collection is FAT! Details and Trailers for Shout’s ‘Chow Yun-fat Collection’ on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayIt's a real shame they seemingly can't get Chow to participate in any of thes…
on Scott Adkins vs. Kane Kosugi? Watch the explosive New Trailer for ‘One Last Shot’ also starring Dolph Lundgrensaw first one was bad and others wrote second was awful also. at least no man…
on The Bodyguard (2024) ReviewIt was a great watch, though the lighting could have been better. Could recom…
Author Archives: Paul Bramhall
Men Behind the Sun (1988) Review
AKA: Camp 731 Director: T. F. Mou Producer: Fu Chi, Hung Chu Cast: Gang Wang, Hsu Gou, Tie Long Jin, Zhao Hua Mei, Zhe Quan, Run Sheng Wang Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall Men Behind the Sun comes with the reputation of being one of the most controversial movies ever made, often mentioned in the same sentence as the likes of Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, and Japan’s Guinea Pig … Continue reading
Evil Hits Evil | aka Three Dark Spirits (1983) Review
Director: Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang Cast: Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, Doris Lung, Alan Lau, Peng Kang, Yeung Hung, Cheung Ching Fung, Gam Wing Cheung, Kim Yu-Haeng Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall If you’re going to watch a horror movie, then one which credits its director as Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang is as good a place to start as any. In what appears to be his first and last time in … Continue reading
Tracer | aka Truy Sát (2016) Review
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 Cuong Ngo, Cuong Seven, Lamou Vissay, Marcus Guilhem, Maria Tran, Mike Leeder, Trung Ngoc Anh
Criminal (2016) Review
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 Alice Eve, Amaury Nolasco, Antje Traue, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Jordi Molla, Kevin Costner, Michael Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, Scott Adkins, Tommy Lee Jones
Valley of the Double Dragon | aka Fist Fighter (1974) Review
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 Kim Jin-pal, Lin Chen Chi, Robert Baker, Suen Yuet
The Real Hard Target: Martial Arts Cinema and Piracy
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
Hard Target 2 (2016) Review
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 Kazu Patrick Tang, Roel Reine, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Scott Adkins, Yanin Vismitananda
Blood of Dragon Peril (1979) Review
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
Godfather’s Daughter Mafia Blues, The (1991) Review
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 Benny Lai Keung Kuen, Dick Wei, Fung Hak On, Ken Lo, Leung Kar-Yan (Beardy), Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Mark King, Wong Yu, Yukari Oshima
Sadako vs Kayako | aka The Ring vs The Grudge (2016) Review
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
Phone, The (2015) Revew
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
Train to Busan (2016) Review
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 Choi Woo-Sik, Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Yeon Sang-Ho
Deadly Kick, The | aka Dragon King (1976) Review
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
Keeper of Darkness (2015) Review
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
Inside Men: The Original (2015) Review
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
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