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on STOP… Hammer time! 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition for the Hammer Film/Shaw Brothers classic ‘Shatter’ arriving in MayI will Support Hammer with this one hoping better is on it's way, also Becaus…
on Karate and Kung Fu collide in the New Trailer for Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s upcoming ‘Karate Kid’ movieShitty music trailer, by the way...
on You know, like Caine in ‘Kung Fu’? Martial arts star Donnie Yen to star and direct untitled ‘John Wick’ spin-offAccording to local HK media reports, Donnie plans to shoot this in Hong Kong…
on The court orders a physical release! Donnie Yen’s ‘The Prosecutor’ hits Blu-ray and DVD in May from Well Go USAOnce again, it’s that white background of doom that should have been eradicat…
on You know, like Caine in ‘Kung Fu’? Martial arts star Donnie Yen to star and direct untitled ‘John Wick’ spin-offPersonally I find Donnie's directing uneven - Legend of the wolf was a mess,…
on STOP… Hammer time! 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition for the Hammer Film/Shaw Brothers classic ‘Shatter’ arriving in MayHammer doesn't own that many of their own films - most are owned by whichever…
on Feeling triggered? Future pressings of the ‘Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1’ have you covered!This is the one that gets me today, this?! 😭
on STOP… Hammer time! 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition for the Hammer Film/Shaw Brothers classic ‘Shatter’ arriving in MayWhy? Giving Shatter this kind of 4K special treatment makes about as much sen…
on Karate and Kung Fu collide in the New Trailer for Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s upcoming ‘Karate Kid’ movieAm I the only one who thinks it's more of the same that you saw in the first…
on ‘Passenger 57’, move over! Andy Lau’s hijack thriller ‘High Forces’ is getting a U.S. release from China LionHigh Forces has been released on Blu-ray in the US - 25 March 2025 - by Bayvi…
on Looking for some spear-slicing action? Donnie Yen’s ‘The Lost Bladesman’ arrives on Blu-ray from ImprintVery underrated Donnie Yen gem. The movie, along with Sakra, has arguably the…
on Wild, The (2023) ReviewThis review does a great job of breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of…
Category Archives: All
Tokyo Knights (1961) Review
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
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Nobuo Kaneko, Seijun Suzuki
Fighting Fist | aka Lady Cop in Fury (1992) Review
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
Posted in All, Chinese, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Chin Kar Lok, Ken Lo, Sibelle Hu, Sonny Chiba
Smashing the 0-Line (1960) Review
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
Downrange (2017) Review
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
Merciless, The (2017) Review
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
Score (1995) Review
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
Sleeping Beast Within, The (1960) Review
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
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
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
Eight Hours of Terror (1957) Review
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
Mimic, The (2017) Review
Director: Huh Jung Cast: Yum Jung-Ah, Park Hyuk-Kwon, Shin Rin-Ah, Heo Jin, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Kil Hae-Yeon, Lee Yool, Noh Susanna, Lim Jong-Yun, Jung Ji-Hoon, Hwang Jae-Won Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall Director and screenwriter Huh Jung made a strong impression with his 2013 debut Hide and Seek (which received a Chinese remake of the same name), a claustrophobic horror that posed the question – what if someone else was … Continue reading
Ghostly Face, The (1973) Review
Director: Yang Shih-Ching Cast: Polly Shang-Kuan, Chan Wai-Lau, Chan Bo-Leung, To Wai Wo, Lenny Marlina, To Man-Bo, Chan Chue Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s something undeniably alluring about stumbling across obscure slices of kung fu cinema from the past, and The Ghostly Face could easily be categorized as one such example. In the 1970’s the practice of Hong Kong and Taiwan filming (or in many cases co-producing) with their South East Asian neighbours … Continue reading
Seven Years of Night (2018) Review
Director: Choo Chang-min Writer: Jung Yoo-Jung Cast: Ryoo Seung-Ryong, Jang Dong-Gun, Song Sae-Byeok, Ko Gyung-Pyo, Moon Jeong-Hee Running Time: 123 min. By Paul Bramhall The theme of a parent seeking to avenge a wrong doing against their child has been one that’s gained plenty of mileage since the beginning of the Korean wave. From Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance in 2002, through to more recent entries such as Lee Kyoung-mi’s The … Continue reading
Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews
Tagged Choo Chang-min, Jang Dong Gun, Ryoo Seung-Ryong
Born Under Crossed Stars (1965) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Ken Yamauchi, Yumiko Nogawa, Masako Izumi, Masao Mishima, Ruriko Ito, Chikako Miyagi, Michio Hino, Michi Azuma, Yoko Benisawa, Keisuke Noro Running Time: 98 min. By Kelly Warner Filmed just two years later, featuring the same leading man in Ken Yamauchi, and based on a book by the same author in Toko Kon, Born Under Crossed Stars is something of a spiritual sequel to the angst-driven youth … Continue reading
Wine War (2017) Review
Director: Leon Lai Writer: Succeed Be Cast: Leon Lai, Zhang Hanyu, Nan Fulong, Lily Ji Li, Du Juan, David Wang, Huang Shang-Ho Running Time: 80 min. By Paul Bramhall Out of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop – Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, and Leon Lai – it’s always been youngest member Lai that’s had the most difficulty transitioning his onstage pop star charisma to the silver screen. Ladened with … Continue reading
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