Category Archives: Asian Related

Final Impact (1991) Review

"Final Impact" UK DVD Cover

Director: Joseph Merhi Cast: Lorenzo Lamas, Jeff Langton, Mimi Lesseos, Kathleen Kinmont, Michael Worth, Frank Rivera, Gary Daniels, Antoinette Steen, James M. Williams Running Time: 101 min. By Retter The genre of kickboxing and punch fighting movies could easily fill an entire video store (or more). The post-Van Damme video era of the 80’s and 90’s coincided with an explosion in home video. This new market in home entertainment was … Continue reading

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Best of the Best (1989) Review

"Best of the Best" American DVD Cover

Director: Robert Radler Cast: James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, Chris Penn, John Dye, David Agresta, Tom Everett, Sally Kirkland, Hee Il Cho, Simon Rhee, James Lew, Ken Nagayama, Ho Sik Pak, Edan Gross, Louise Fletcher Running Time: 97 min. By HKFanatic I put off watching “Best of the Best” for years – to the point where most people’s reaction became “I can’t believe you haven’t seen that movie!” … Continue reading

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Redbelt (2008) Review

"Redbelt" American Theatrical Poster

Director: David Mamet Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, Rodrigo Santoro, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Randy Couture, Caroline de Souza Correa, Mike Goldberg, Damon Herriman, Dan Inosanto, Enson Inoue, Ricky Jay, John Machado, Ray Mancini, Joe Mantegna, Max Martini, Emily Mortimer, David Paymer Running Time: 100 min. By JJ Hatfield Red Belt is truly an exceptional martial arts movie. It achieves this distinction by focusing on one quiet unassuming man … Continue reading

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Last Man Standing (1996) Review

Director: Walter Hill Writer: Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Walter Hill Producer: Walter Hill, Arthur M. Sarkissian Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Alexandra Powers, David Patrick Kelly, Karina Lombard, Bruce Dern Running Time: 101 min. By HKFanatic With a $67 million price tag, the box office failure of “Last Man Standing” in 1996 put a momentary end to Bruce Willis’ Hollywood clout and effectively derailed director Walter Hill’s career. It’s not … Continue reading

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Mission: Impossible II | aka M:I-2 (2000) Review

"Mission: Impossible II" American Theatrical Poster

Director: John Woo Cast: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, William R. Mapother, Brendan Gleeson, Anthony Hopkins, John Polson, Dominic Purcell Running Time: 123 min. By HKFanatic “Mission: Impossible II” is one of those films that debuted to big money at the box office (it’s still the most successful film in the franchise, although “Ghost Protocol” is getting there), only to later be regarded with great critical and … Continue reading

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Cannonball Run, The (1981) Review

"The Cannonball Run" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Hal Needham Cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, George Furth, Michael Hui, Johnny Yune, Molly Picon, Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder Running Time: 95 min. By Numskull The infrared sureillance device in Jackie’s computerized race car may be “the cat’s ass”, but this movie certainly isn’t. It’s more … Continue reading

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Expendables, The: Extended Director’s Cut (2010) Review

"The Expendables: Extended Director's Cut" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Sylvester Stallone Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Daniels, David Zayas Running Time: 113 min. By HKFanatic “Double dipping” is a fairly common practice for studios these days. If a film you love comes out on blu-ray and has a weak visual transfer, you can pretty much hold your breath until … Continue reading

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Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011) Review

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Blu-ray (Warner)

Director: Kevin Tancharoen Cast: Michael Jai White, Jeri Ryan, Darren Shahlavi, Matt Mullins, Sam Tjhia, Jolene Tran, Ryan Robbins, Ian Anthony Dale, Kevan Ohtsji, Peter Shinkoda Running Time: 100 min. By HKFanatic Back in 2010, a director named Kevin Tancharoen appeared out of nowhere with a short film titled “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.” The film was a ‘proof of concept’ for Kevin’s vision of a Mortal Kombat relaunch, a way to … Continue reading

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Bunraku (2009) Review

"Bunraku" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Guy Moshe Cast: Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Gackt Camui, Kevin McKidd, Ron Perlman, Demi Moore, Shun Sugata, Jordi Molla, Emily Kaiho, Mike Patton (voice) Running Time: 118 min. By HKFanatic 2009’s “Bunraku” is nothing if not ambitious. Shot in four weeks on soundstages in Romania for a minuscule (by Hollywood standards) budget of $20 million, the film tells the tale of a “cowboy without a gun” (Josh Hartnett) and … Continue reading

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Speed Racer (2008) Review

"Speed Racer" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: The Wachowskis Cast: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree Running Time: 135 min.  By Ningen Emile Hirsch plays a one-dimensional guy named Speed Racer who teams up with a random Korean guy played by Rain and a myterious racer named X played by Matthew Fox to take down The Man (aka Royalton) through competitive car racing. … Continue reading

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Reservoir Dogs (1992) Review

Director: Quentin Tarantino Writer: Quentin Tarantino Producer: Lawrence Bender Cast: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Lawrence Bender, Steven Wright Running Time: 99 min. By Ningen While it’s not a legal or officially acknowledged remake of City on Fire, Reservoir Dogs has (unfairly) achieved so much attention, that it’d be impossible to ignore reviewing it. A number of … Continue reading

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Man from Hong Kong, The | aka The Dragon Flies (1975) Review

"The Man from Hong Kong" International Theatrical Poster

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby, Rosalind Speirs, Frank Thring, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Sammo Hung, Rebecca Gilling, Grant Page, Bill Hunter, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Biao, Corey Yuen, To Wai Wo Running Time: 111 min. By Jeff Bona When a Chinese drug courier named Win Chan (Sammo Hung) is arrested in Australia, local police officials enlist the help of Hong Kong Special Agent Fang Sing Leng … Continue reading

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Ninja Assassin (2009) Review

"Ninja Assassin" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: James McTeigue Cast: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, Sho Kosugi, Sung Kang, Randall Duk Kim, Linh Dan Pham, Ill-Young Kim, Yuki Iwamoto, Stephen Marcus Running Time: 99 min. By Mighty Peking Man If any of the following statements apply to you, then chances are, you definitely went through a “ninja phase” in the 1980s: 1. You had a copy of Revenge of the Ninja playing religiously in … Continue reading

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Die Hard 4.0 | aka Live Free or Die Hard (2007) Review

"Die Hard 4.0" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Len Wiseman Cast: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Jonathan Sadowski, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith, Cyril Raffaelli Running Time: 129 min. By Ningen Ah, Die Hard-the movie ranked #1 action movie at Entertainment Weekly. The only one I didn’t see in the series was the second film, but, since I hear it doesn’t matter, I’ll assume the McTiernan versions should be enough to judge … Continue reading

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Tactical Force (2011) Review

"Tactical Force" Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Adamo Paolo Cultraro Cast: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Michael Jai White, Candace Elaine, Lexa Doig, Steve Bacic, Michael Shanks, Michael Eklund, Darren Shahlavi Running Time: 90 min. By HKFanatic If you rent a movie with “Stone Cold” Steven Austin dead center on the cover, you probably know what you’re in for. There’s gonna be low production values, Stone Cold is gonna spout off a few one-liners like “You can … Continue reading

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