With the recent release of the Charlize Theron starring Atomic Blonde, a disproportionate amount of mainstream press coverage has revolved around how refreshing it is to finally see a Hollywood movie with a female action lead. Understandably, many Asian cinema fans have been quick to point out how Hong Kong has delivered more butt kicking female leads than you can shake a stick at, dating back to the beginnings of … Continue reading →

Back in the oughts, before Hollywood became bankrolled by superhero franchises and endless reboots, the industries former money maker came from a seemingly endless stream of Americanised remakes of Asian movies. From horror (especially horror!) to action flicks to comedies, the list quickly became exhaustive, with fans of the originals rarely having anything positive to say about the Hollywood versions. However one aspect of the remake machine that rarely gets … Continue reading →

Jim Kelly was a singular individual… period. Although for some – particularly critic – he was just another standard action contractee of the Blaxploitation era recalled in idle conversat­ions notably for his co-starring credit opposite the late Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (1973), and a vernacular of deadpan, cynically delivered one-liners. Is this the only legacy Jim Kelly bequeathed to a united nation of grieving fans and ageing film Historians; nostalgically pining … Continue reading →

When you think of the famous studios responsible for producing some of the most popular kung fu classics, some names that will likely spring to mind are Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers, and Cathay, to name but a few. One name that certainly wouldn’t be near the top of anyone’s list, or even on it at all for that matter, is American cable channel HBO. However at the end of 2016, … Continue reading →

Perhaps more than any other genre, making a good first impression in an action movie is paramount. Sure there can be some characterisation, plot setup etc. beforehand, but when that first action scene hits, it has to count. Because let’s face it, audiences are tuning into an action movie for action. If that first scene when things start to get physical is a damp squib of an excuse to get … Continue reading →

As someone who got into the kung fu movie scene during the late 90’s, there’s always been a part of me which feels envious of those who got to experience the movies from the 70’s and 80’s golden era first hand, be it in a grindhouse cinema, or on an overly priced VHS tape. The sense of mystery, that came with movie watching back then, had essentially dissipated by the … Continue reading →

List-making is an interesting but challenging exercise in distillation, especially when you’re whittling down the history of an entire genre to just a handful of movies. Obviously, the following is not a comprehensive “best of” list: it overlooks many directors and performers who have made significant contributions to the Chinese martial arts film. But each of these movies represents a milestone in the development of a genre which continues to evolve and … Continue reading →

Living in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, always brings plenty of surprises, and so it was one evening in early November 2016, I received the following text message: “Hi everyone! 7pm tomorrow I am introducing a secret Makati screening of the super-rare, super-strange 1973 Pinoy SUPERGIRL! Interested? txt me for details!” The number identified the sender as a certain Andrew Leavold, the Australian filmmaker behind the Filipino cinema documentaries … Continue reading →

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 →

Every film genre – action, science fiction, horror, comedy and even animated – has had a series of memorable villains that have stuck with us for most of our lives. Whether it be a sadistic teenager portrayed by James Spader; an emotionless cyborg represented by Arnold Schwarzenegger; a suave, humorous terrorist leader played by Alan Rickman; or even a scarred lion voiced by Jeremy Irons – it’s the bad guys … Continue reading →

The Universal Soldier films are unique in that they blend stories about cyborg-like killers with martial arts and several of action cinema’s greatest stars. Action icons like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Jai White, and Scott Adkins all appear throughout the franchise and leave their stamp on the Universal Soldier name. Fans of both science fiction and martial arts cinema adore these films because they blend two separate sub-genres … Continue reading →

As the year that was 2015 fades into the distance, it’s that time once more to reflect on the cinematic highs that were enjoyed during the last 12 months. Just like last year, this will be a collection of movies that I watched for the first time during 2015, not movies that were necessarily released in 2015. There’ll be some movies on this list that don’t have reviews on the … Continue reading →

Warning: This Article May Cause Discomfort for the Eyes Marketing Hong Kong movies to a western audience has always been a tricky business, especially when it comes to DVD releases. Amongst the countless latest Hollywood titles fighting for your attention and shelf space, arguably the most important asset a DVD can have is an attention grabbing cover. Hong Kong movies in particular have been subjected to some ‘interesting’ design choices … Continue reading →