Category Archives: All

Believer 2 (2023) Review

Director: Baek Jong-Yeol Cast: Cho Jin-Woong, Cha Seung-Won, Han Hyo-Joo, Oh Seung-Hoon, Kim Dong-Young, Lee Joo-Young, Kang Seung-hyun, Jung Joon-won, Tzi Ma, Andreas Fronk Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall The decision to remake Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To’s 2013 crime thriller Drug War as a Korean production would prove to be a winning one when Believer was released in 2018. While the original was To’s first venture to … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

The War God | aka Calamity (1976) Review

Director: Chen Hung-Min Cast: Ku Ming-Lun, Tse Ling-Ling, Chen Yu-Hsin, Lung Fei, Cindy Tang Hsin, Tseng Chao Runnning Time: 91 min.  By Paul Bramhall The chances are if someone was feeling in the mood for some kaiju action, the go-to country would be Japan. The likes of Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidora have practically come to define the genre, and of course the word ‘kaiju’ itself is Japanese, directly translating … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Blood and Steel (1990) Review

Director: Mark Swetland Cast: David Male, Joanne Gagliardo, Elaine Arnone, Diane Zdarsky, John Raszeja, David Bobik, Rick Swetland, Ron Detrick, Scott Sehl, Jim Reeb Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall One side effect from the emergence of boutique Blu-ray labels over the last 10 years, is that we’ve seen a deluge of increasingly obscure and “lost” low budget productions being given the deluxe release treatment, some of them even … Continue reading

Posted in All, Asian Related, Bruceploitation, News, Other Movies, Reviews |

Warhorse One (2023) Review

Director: William Kaufman Co-director: Johnny Strong Cast: Johnny Strong, Athena Durner, Raj Kala, James Sherrill, Siya, Todd Jenkins, Danny Augustus, Michael Sauers, Xander Gòmez, David Ibrahim Running Time: 125 min.  By Henry McKeand Is the POW-MIA action film making a comeback? It’s been nearly four decades since John Rambo went back into the jungle to retroactively win Vietnam, but “The War Ends When I Say It Ends!” flicks seem to … Continue reading

Posted in All, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged , |

Shaolin Kids, The (1975) Review

Director: Joseph Kuo Cast: Polly Shang-Kwan, Chang I Fei, Tin Peng, Carter Wong, Kam Kong, Yee Yuen, Chang Yi, Jimmy Lee Fong, Cliff Lok, Chen Chiu, Sham Chin Bo Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall Like every genre kung-fu cinema has continued to evolve throughout the years, and perhaps no decade was more transformative than the 70’s. While the swordsplay dominated wuxia genre still ruled the roost at the … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Visible Secret (2001) Review

Director: Ann Hui   Cast: Eason Chan, Shu Qi, Sam Lee, Wayne Lai, James Wong Jim, Kara Hui, Anthony Lau Wing, Lee Fung, Anthony Wong Chau Sang, Perry Chan Ping Chi, Samuel Yau Man Shing, Cheung Tat Ming Running Time: 98 min. By Will McGuire Visible Secret is not so much a horror film as it is a phantasmagoria. The aim of the picture is neither to inspire fear in the … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Revenge of Dr. X, The (1967) Review

AKA: Body of the Prey Director: Norman Thomson Cast: James Craig, James Yagi, Atsuko Rome, Lawrence O’Neill, Al Ricketts, John Stanley Running Time: 94 min.  By Ian Whittle Well, this is a head-scratcher. An Ed Wood written 50s monster movie script, Venus Fly-Trap, produced in 60s Japan as Body of the Prey by a former Orson Welles associate…with funds and possibly a monster suit likely supplied by Toei, who denies … Continue reading

Posted in All, Asian Related, Japanese, News, Other Movies, Reviews |

Lion Girl (2023) Review

Director: Kurando Mitsutake Cast: Tori Griffiths, David Sakurai, Katarina Leigh Waters, Derek Mears, Stefanie Estes, Julie Burrise, Erin Marie Hogan, Shelby Lee Parks, Hidetoshi Imura, Kirk Geiger, Akihiro Kitamura, Wes Armstrong, Taishi Tamaki Running Time: 121 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s fair to say that for most of the 2020’s audiences have grown fatigued to the endless superhero fodder that’s dominated cinema screens for the past 15 years, with reboots, … Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Return of the 18 Bronzemen, The (1976) Review

Director: Joseph Kuo Cast: Carter Wong, Polly Shang-Kuan, Tien Peng, Ko Yu-Min, Yuen Sam, Wong Fei Lung, Lau Lap Cho, O Yau Man, Chiu Ting, Shaw Luo Hui, Chen Chiu Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall Following the success of the previous years 18 Bronzemen, director Joseph Kuo realised that he still had a few tubs of bronze paint leftover, so got the gang back together for a sequel, … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Beach of the War Gods (1973) Review

Director: Jimmy Wang Yu Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Lung Fei, Tin Yau, Sit Hon, Shan Mao, Choi Wang, Kwan Hung, Cheung Yee Kwai, Su Chen Ping, Hsieh Hsing, Cho Kin, Blacky Ko Sau Leung, Jack Long Sai Ga, Lui Jun, Man Man, O Yau Man Running Time: 97 min. By Will McGuire There’s a delightful contradiction between form and content at the heart of Beach of the War Gods: formally … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, Golden Harvest, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Jade Raksha, The (1968) Review

Director: Ho Meng-Hua Cast: Cheng Pei-pei, Tang Ching, Wong Ching Wan, Ku Feng, Yeung Chi Hing, Fan Mei Sheng Running Time: 91 min. By Will McGuire In the midst of the current avalanche of Shaw Brothers titles getting top-shelf physical releases in America, it’s only natural that fans will look for hidden gems in the enormous Shaw catalog. As publishers get deeper into the backlog, and more obscure films begin … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , |

Boudica: Queen of War (2023) Review

Director: Jesse V. Johnson Cast: Olga Kurylenko, Clive Standen, Peter Franzén, Lucy Martin, Nick Moran, James Faulkner Running Time: 101 min. By Henry McKeand One thing you could never call Jesse Johnson is complacent. Just a few months ago, his 21st-century western, One Ranger, was released. Now, he’s delivering Boudica: Queen of War, a film that swaps out Johnson’s typical pulpy crime narratives for a blood-soaked take on the story … Continue reading

Posted in All, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged , |

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) Review

Director: Wu Ershan Cast: Kris Phillips, Narana Eryeneeva, Huang Bo, Yafan Wu, Ci Sha, Yu Shi, Li Xuejian, Chen Muchi Running Time: 148 min. By Paul Bramhall  There was a time in the mid-2010’s when the Mainland Chinese film industry seemed to be obsessed with producing big budget CGI driven fantasy spectacles, with what felt like a new title being announced with alarming frequency. One such example was 2016’s League … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Ride On (2023) Review

Director: Larry Yang Cast: Jackie Chan, Xing Yu, Andy On, Yu Rongguang, Wu Jing, Stanley Tong, Aarif Rahman, Liu Haocun Running Time: 126 min. By Paul Bramhall For fans of Jackie Chan, on paper Ride On is the movie we’ve (yes, I count myself amongst them!) been waiting for him to make for at least the last 10 years. Since Mainland China became a box office juggernaut in the 2010’s … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Ballerina (2023) Review

Director: Lee Choong-Hyun Cast: Jeon Jong-seo, Park Yu-rim, Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Mu-yeol, Shin Se-Hwi, Park Hyoung-Soo, Kim Young-Ok, Joo Hyun, Jang Yoon-Ju, Park Geun-Jeong Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall At the end of my review for director and writer Lee Chung-hyun’s 2020 feature length debut The Call, I noted how its success “owes a lot to Jong-seo’s edgy performance, but also marks Chung-hyun as a director to keep … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |