Category Archives: All

Empty Hands, The (2017) Review

"The Empty Hands" Theatrical Poster

Director: Chapman To Cast: Chapman To, Stephy Tang, Yasuaki Kurata, Stephen Au, Dada Chan, Ryan Lau, Michelle Loo, Juju Chan, Roy Szeto, Tanya Chan, Wiyona Yeung Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall While many may claim that Hong Kong cinema is dead, a case that’s hard to argue when compared to its unmatchable heyday of the 80’s, it’s unfair to completely write off the territory as being a lifeless … Continue reading

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Stabilizer, The (1986) Review

"The Stabilizer" VHS Cover

Director: Arizal Cast: Peter O’Brian, Craig Gavin, Gillie Beanz, Dana Christina, Harry Capry, Kaharudin Syah, Mark Sungkar, Yenny Farida, Linda Husein, Herman Pero Running Time: 93 min.  By Paul Bramhall Indonesian action maestro Arizal had a busy year in 1986. Not only did he set Chris Mitchum loose on the streets of Jakarta to raise hell in Final Score, but he also launched the career of walking growth hormone Peter O’Brian. Legend has it that … Continue reading

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Debt Collector, The (2018) Review

"The Debt Collector" Japanese DVD Cover

AKA: The Pay Up Director: Jesse V. Johnson Cast: Scott Adkins, Louis Mandylor, Vladimir Kulich, Tony Todd, Michael Paré, Rachel Brann, Selina Lo, Sean Crampton, Rachel Brann, Alexa Bondar Running Time: 96 min.  By Paul Bramhall There’s something undeniably satisfying about watching the collaborations of a director and star who you know work well together, and now 3 titles in (in less than 2 years), this seems to very much be the case for Jesse V. … Continue reading

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Champion (2018) Review

Director: Kim Yong-Wan Producer: Han Dong-Hwan Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kwon Yool, Han Ye-Ri, Choi Seung-Hoon, Ok Ye-Rin, Yang Hyun-Min, Kang Shin-Hyo, Lee Kyoo-Ho, Bae Myung-Ho, Kim Dong-Hyun Running Time: 108 min. By Paul Bramhall In 1987 Sylvester Stallone famously headlined the arm wrestling movie Over the Top, having agreed to star in it believing that, in all likelihood, nobody would watch it. He was wrong, of course, as despite its … Continue reading

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Man with a Shotgun, The (1961) Review

"The Man with a Shotgun" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Hideaki Nitani, Izumi Ashikawa, Yuji Kodaka, Yoko Minamida, Akio Tanaka, Eiji Go, Keisuke Noro, Asao Sano, Jun Hamamura Running Time: 84 min.  By Kelly Warner Nikkatsu was always fond of mixing genre tropes from American movies into their films (sometimes they admitted it was less a case of influence and more a copy and paste job). Usually we think of American gangster films as the main … Continue reading

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Tokyo Knights (1961) Review

"Tokyo Knights" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Koji Wada, Mayumi Shimizu, Yoko Minamida, Nobuo Kaneko, Yoshiko Nezu, Shoichi, Ozawa George, Luiker Naomi, Ozawa Moto, Matsuyama Hiroshi, Kamayatsu Yasuhiro, Kameyama Zenpei, Saga Hiroshi Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner Seijun Suzuki was a contract studio director for Nikkatsu. That meant that he made the films they told him to, with little time for pre-production, rewrites, or creative decision making. 1961 alone saw the … Continue reading

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Fighting Fist | aka Lady Cop in Fury (1992) Review

"Fighting Fist" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Lady Cop in Fury Director: Sonny Chiba Co-director: Casey Chan Cast: Sibelle Hu, Sonny Chiba, Chin Kar Lok, Song Lei, Ken Lo, Shogo Shiotani, Masashi Ishibashi, Masaru Matsuda, Gam Biu, James Ha, Lee Fat-Yuen Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall Let’s face it, 1992 was a great year for Asian action cinema. Jet Li and Donnie Yen faced off in Once Upon a Time in China II, John … Continue reading

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Smashing the 0-Line (1960) Review

"Smashing the 0-Line" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Secret Zero Zone Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Hiroyuki Nagato, Yuji Kodaka,Sanae Nakahara, Mayumi Shimizu, Tomo’o Nagai, Kaku Takashina, Emiko Azuma, Shoichi Ozawa, Ryohei Uchida, Keisuke Noro Running Time: 83 min. By Kelly Warner One of my favorite film heroes is the investigative journalist. Seekers of truth armed only with pen and notepad, overturning stones to reveal the misdeeds of powerful men who thought justice couldn’t touch them. Films about … Continue reading

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Downrange (2017) Review

"Downrange" Theatrical Poster

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Cast: Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Rod Hernandez, Anthony Kirlew, Alexa Yeames, Jason Tobias, Aion Boyd, Eric Matuschek, Ikumi Yoshimatsu Running Time: 90 min.  By Kelly Warner Ryuhei Kitamura is a director I keep tabs on because he interests me. He has this weird balancing act where he teeters back and forth between almost greatness and absolute garbage – sometimes, in his most well-known films, you get a … Continue reading

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Merciless, The (2017) Review

"The Merciless" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Byun Sung-Hyun Writer: Byun Sung-Hyun Cast: Sol Kyung-Gu, Siwan, Kim Hee-Won, Jeon Hye-Jin, Lee Kyoung-Young, Jang In-Sub, Kim Sung-Oh, Choi Byung-Mo, Heo Jun-Ho, Kim Ji-Hoon Running Time: 120 min. By Martin Sandison Since its inception in the mid-90’s, the Korean noir genre just keeps producing gems. Movies such as Lee Chang-dong’s Green Fish, Kim Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life and Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy are a few of the all-time classics; … Continue reading

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Score (1995) Review

"Score" Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Atsushi Muroga Cast: Shu Ehara, Hiroshi Miyasaka, Ryushi Mizukami, Hitoshi Ozawa, Kazuyoshi Ozawa, Miyuki Takano, Takashi Ukaji, Masahiro Yamashita, Ryuji Minakami  Running Time: 88 min.  By Paul Bramhall While Japanese cinema in the 1990’s was already a far cry from its golden age, one of the best genres to come out of this era was that which would become known as V-Cinema. Kicked off by Toei’s 1989 feature Crime Hunter, … Continue reading

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Sleeping Beast Within, The (1960) Review

"The Sleeping Beast Within" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Writer: Ichiro Ikeda Cast: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Shinsuke Ashida, Kinzo Shin, Kojiro Kusanagi, Keisuke Noro, Hisano Yamaoka, Ko Nishimura, Shoichi Ozawa Running Time: 85 min.  By Kelly Warner After two years away on business, Mr. Ueki returns home on a ship from Hong Kong to meet his family at the Yokohama pier. None of his business partners are there to meet him and the family thinks this suspicious. After … Continue reading

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Osaka Badass: Snake of Violence (2013) Review

Director: Takahiro Ishihara Writer: Takahiro Ishihara Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Maya Fukuzawa, Rikiya Kaido, Takashi Nishina, Tomoko Tabata, Taichi Suzuki Running Time: 110 min.  By Paul Bramhall The yakuza movie is my favorite of all the Japanese genres, and while its heyday of the 1970’s has long since passed, they are still being made, albeit in more of a trickle than the constant stream of a bygone era. With this in mind, Osaka Badass: Snake … Continue reading

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Vampire Clay (2017) Review

Director: Soichi Umezawa Producer: Yoshihiro Nishimura Cast: Ena Fujita, Asuka Kurosawa, Yuyu Makihara, Ryo Shinoda, Momoka Sugimoto Running Time: 80 min. By Kyle Warner Horror fans like to convince themselves that they’ve seen it all. ‘That new horror film everyone loves is actually a more mainstream take on a similar horror movie made 20 years ago that nobody paid attention to at the time, don’tchaknow?’ But then something like Vampire Clay … Continue reading

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Eight Hours of Terror (1957) Review

"Eight Hours of Terror" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Nobuo Kaneko, Harue Tone, Sumiko Minami, Kenjiro Uemura, Minako Katsuki, Kan Yanagiya, Hiroshi Kondo, Hideaki Nitani, Masao Oda, Taizo Fukami, Ryutaro Nagai, Fumiko Fukuda, Keiko Shima, Eiko Misuzu Running Time: 78 min. By Kelly Warner Now this is more like it. I enjoyed watching Seijun Rising, the first Arrow Video box set showcasing five of Seijun Suzuki’s earlier films. As a big fan of the director, … Continue reading

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