Author Archives: Paul Bramhall

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) Review

Director: Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny, Esai Morales, Shea Whigham, Rob Delaney Running Time: 163 min. By Paul Bramhall In the closing line for my review of 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, I’d expressed a hope that if Tom Cruise was to return, then all he’d need was for “someone to hook him up with Gareth Evans for Mission: … Continue reading

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Fox with Nine Tails, The (1994) Review

"The Fox with Nine Tails" Theatrical Poster

Director: Park Heonsu Cast: Ko So-young, Jung Woo-sung, Dok-go Young-jae, Bang Eun-hee, Lee Ki-young Running Time: 115 min.  By Paul Bramhall   Korean cinema was in a transitionary period during the 1990’s, a decade which would culminate in its film industry achieving an international breakthrough thanks to Kang Je-gyu’s bombastic action movie Shiri. The start of the decade was a very different story, with Korea opening up to import foreign cinema, … Continue reading

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Childe, The (2023) Review

Director: Park Hoon-Jung Cast: Kim Sun-Ho, Kang Tae-Ju, Kim Kang-Woo, Go Ara, Justin John Harvey, Caroline Magbojos Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall As a director and scriptwriter Park Hoon-jung has become one of the most consistent commercial filmmakers in Korea since his debut with The Showdown in 2010, going on to helm a further 7 productions over the next 13 years. His latest arrives in the form of … Continue reading

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Cobweb (2023) Review

Director: Kim Jee-Woon Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Lim Soo-jung, Oh Jung-Se, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Krystal Jung, Jung Woo-sung Running Time: 135 min.  By Paul Bramhall Back in the 2000’s the Korean film industry was going through a creative renaissance, so much so that its popularity overseas coined the term the ‘Korean Wave’, referencing that particular period of the countries cinematic output. Back then there were a trio of directors at the forefront … Continue reading

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Extraction 2 (2023) Review

"The Childe" Theatrical Poster

Director: Sam Hargrave Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Idris Elba, Andro Japaridze, Levan Saginashvili Running Time: 122 min.  By Paul Bramhall In the closing scene of 2020’s Extraction, we saw Chris Hemsworth riddled with bullets and left for dead in Bangladesh, falling from a bridge into the river below to sail away into the great beyond. Except, Extraction is an action movie, and if there’s one thing … Continue reading

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The Roundup: No Way Out (2023) Review

Director: Lee Sang-Yong Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Munetaka Aoki, Jun Kunimura, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-jae, Jun Suk-ho, Ko Kyu-phil, Bae Noo-ri, Lee Ji-hoon Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall The expression “it’s the role he was born to play” may be a cliched one, but its hard to think of a more fitting one when it comes to Ma Dong-seok playing the witty, hammer fisted detective Ma Seok-do. Introduced in 2017’s … Continue reading

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Day Zero (2022) Review

Director: Joey De Guzman Cast: ​Brandon Vera, Pepe Herrera, Mary Jean Lastimosa, Joey Marquez, Ricci Rivero, Freya Fury Montierro, Yohance Levi Buie, Jema Galanza, Jovit Moya Running Time: 82 min. By Paul Bramhall In the late 2010’s it began to feel like the Philippines film industry was finally stepping out of the insipid stupor it had spent most of the 21st century in, and was making a legitimate effort to produce some solid action … Continue reading

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Girl on a Bulldozer, The (2022) Review

Director: Park Ri-Woong Cast: Kim Hye-Yoon, Park Hyuk-Kwon, Oh Man-Seok, Yesung, Choi Hee-Jin, Lee Hwi-Jong, Sung Yeo-Jin, Kim Hee-Chang, Han Hye-Ji, Kim Joong-Ki Running Time: 112 min.  By Paul Bramhall The Korean indie movie has long been the stomping ground of grim and gritty drama’s focusing on societies downtrodden and overlooked, with those focusing on teenage girls almost being its own genre. In the last 10 years alone we’ve had … Continue reading

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Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022) Review

Director: Lee Suk-Hoon Cast: Hyun-Bin, Yu Hae-Jin, Lim Yoon-A , Daniel Henney, Jin Sun-Kyu, Jang Young-Nam, Park Hoon, Im Sung-Jae, Yoon Sang-Hwa, Park Min-Ha Running Time: 129 min. By Paul Bramhall In 2016 Yoo Hae-jin and Hyun Bin played a South Korean detective and North Korean agent who team up to track down a rogue North Korean general in Confidential Assignment. Somewhat of a precursor to the trend of movies … Continue reading

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Assassin Club (2023) Review

Director: Camille Delamarre Cast: Henry Golding, Noomi Rapace, Sheena Hao, Sam Neill, Daniela Melchior, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Anastasia Doaga, Gianluca Bottoni, Giulio Pampiglione Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall Like every genre, the action movie is one that goes through cycles. For almost 10 years we’ve been in the age of the assassin flick, kickstarted by 2014’s John Wick and its (at least back then) refreshing approach to no frills, … Continue reading

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Jackie Chan – Cameo Story: His Top 10 HK Cinema Cameos

Over the last few years many of Jackie Chan’s classics from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s have found a new audience thanks to the stellar work of labels like 88 Films, Arrow Video, and Eureka! Entertainment. Arguably one of the most physically talented performers of the last 50 years, Chan was for many the ultimate action star – combining martial arts prowess, a willingness to put his body on the … Continue reading

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Young Ip Man: Crisis Time (2020) Review

Director: Liming Li Cast: Zhao Wenhao, Mu Fengbin, Jonathan Kos-Read, Yuqing Shi, Li Hao Xuan Running Time: 79 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s hard to believe that since Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen’s iconic Ip Man in 2008 we’ve had 3 sequels, a spin-off, 2 more cinematic outings with different actors, a TV series, and 4 web-movies (with 3 more different actors!). That’s without mentioning a certain Wong Kar Wai. … Continue reading

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Anchor, The (2022) Review

Director: Jeong Ji-Yeon Cast: Chun Woo-Hee, Shin Ha-Kyun, Lee Hye-Young, Cha Rae-Hyoung, Park Ji-Hyun, Nam Moon-Chul, Im Sung-Jae, Kim Young-Pil, Lee Hae-Woon Running Time: 111 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s something morbidly entertaining about those movies which take a character and put them through the wringer to a point that they become completely unhinged. Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Christian Bale in American Psycho, Natalie Portman in Black Swan – the … Continue reading

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Sparring Partner, The (2022) Review

Director: Ho Cheuk-tin Cast: Alan Yeung, Mak Pui-tung, Louisa So, Michael Chow, Jan Lamb, Gloria Yip, Jimmy Wong, Choi Tze-Ching, Au Ka-Man, Hui Siu-Ying, Franchesca Wong Running Time: 140 min. By Paul Bramhall When Hong Kong first introduced the Category III rating in 1988, indicating that the title in question couldn’t be viewed by those under 18, few could predict that by the time the 90’s hit, the term Cat … Continue reading

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Operation Bangkok | aka Heroes Return (2021) Review

Director: Du Xiubin Cast: Ray Lui Leung Wai, Yuen Biao, Pavarit Mongkolpisit, Xu Dongdong, Liu Wei-Sen, Zhang Yonghua, Huang Guan, Chu Xu, Li Xing-Yu, Kinsman, Gao Lin Running Time: 90 min.  By Paul Bramhall China’s massive web movie market is known for its quick and cheap output, primarily driven by a seemingly endless line of monster movies and action flicks, all intended to be disposable and forgotten about a few … Continue reading

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