Category Archives: Asian Related

Office of the Dead (2009) Review

Director: Matthew Chung Producer: Karen Shih, Teddy Chen Culver Writer: Matthew Chung Cast: Teddy Chen, Shawn Parikh, Christina July Kim, Robbie Daymond, Don Jeanes, Amelia Meyers, Jani Blom, David Goldman, Natasha Nov, Lynnette Li, Wayne Robbins Running Time: 72 min. By Mighty Peking Man A company called Life Corp is working on a new, groundbreaking technology developed to “make people happy.” In charge of the programming is Ben (Teddy Chen) … Continue reading

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JCVD (2008) Review

AKA: J.C.V.D. Director: Mabrouk El Mechri Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Saskia Flanders Running Time: 96 min. By Mighty Peking Man Back in 1988, I remember walking into a video rental store and taking a chance with an unknown, newly-released movie called Bloodsport. Not only did the catchy title of the movie interest me, but so did the odd image of … Continue reading

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Karate Kid, The | aka Kung Fu Kid (2010) Review

AKA: Kung Fu Kid Director: Harald Zwart Cast: Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Yu Rong-Guang, Wenwen Han, Zhenwei Wang Running Time: 139 min. By Ningen An updated Karate Kid which should technically be more of a remake of the second film than the first film, it’s about a kid (duh) named Dre who moves to China, runs into some punks, gets beaten down by ’em, and then, with … Continue reading

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Corruptor, The (1999) Review

"The Corruptor" US Theatrical Poster

AKA: N.Y.P.D. 15 Director: James Foley Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Jon Kit Lee, Andrew Pang, Brian Cox, Elizabeth Lindsey, Byron Mann, Bill MacDonald Running Time: 110 min. By Numskull After seeing this movie, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. While not spectacular, it’s very solid in every way that counts, and after the abysmal Replacement Killers, Chow Yun-Fat was in dire need of a … Continue reading

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Bermuda Depths, The (1978) Review

Director: Tsugunobu Kotani (billed as Tom Kotani) Writer: William Overgard (screenplay), Arthur Rankin, Jr. (story) Cast: Leigh McCloskey, Carl Weathers, Burl Ives, Connie Sellecca, Julie Woodson, Ruth Attaway Running Time: 97 min. By Alvin George A live-action TV movie from Rankin/Bass Productions (the same company that put out the cartoon “Thundercats” and that deathless stop-motion classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”), “The Bermuda Depths” has acquired a significant cult following over … Continue reading

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Year of the Dragon (1985) Review

"Year of the Dragon" French Theatrical Poster

Director: Michael Cimino Producer: Dino De Laurentiis Cast: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Eddie Jones, Joey Chin, Victor Wong, Fan Mei Sheng, Mark Hammer Running Time: 134 min. By James H. Stanley White is a man obsessed. He is a Vietnam veteran, and a New York cop assigned to Chinatown. Moreover, he is a racist. His experiences in ‘Nam have left him jaded … Continue reading

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Machete (2010) Review

"Machete" US Theatrical Poster

AKA: Grindhouse, Machete Director: Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis Cast: Danny Trejo, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Tom Savini, Shea Whigham Running Time: 105 min. By Ningen Danny Trejo plays the titular character, an ex-Mexican cop-turned-migrant worker who gets caught up in a conspiracy between some rich guy and the drug dealer by the name of Torrez (Steven Seagal) … Continue reading

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Last Samurai, The (2003) Review

Director: Edward Zwick Writer: John Logan, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Koyuki, Tony Goldwyn, Seizo Fukomoto, Timothy Spall, Hiroyuki Sanada, Masato Harada, Sosuke Ikematsu, Shin Koyamada, Aoi Minato, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Shun Sugata Plot: Epic Action Drama. Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of … Continue reading

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Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) Review

"Blood: The Last Vampire" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Chris Nahon Cast: Jun Ji Hyun, Koyuki, Michael Byrne, Colin Salmon, Allison Miller, Masiela Lusha, Yasuaki Kurata Running Time: 89 min. By Ningen Saya is a vampire hunter who’s half-vampire herself. Working for the feds, she tracks down her nemesis, Onigen, in Japan. In an attempt to be discrete and blend in, she poses as a schoolgirl on a U.S. airbase situated in that country. However, she ends up … Continue reading

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Crow, The (1994) Review

Director: Alex Proyas Producer: Edward R. Pressman Cast: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, David Patrick Kelly, Angel David, Rochelle Davis, Bai Ling, Laurence Mason, Michael Massee, Bill Raymond, Sofia Shinas, Anna Levine, Tony Todd, Jon Polito Running Time: 100 min. By Numskull The Crow is a movie full of rare things. It’s rare for a person to get killed during production, especially the lead actor. But, as I’m sure … Continue reading

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Rapid Fire | aka Moving Target (1992) Review

Director: Dwight H. Little Cast: Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Nick Mancuso, Raymond J. Barry, Kate Hodge, Tzi Ma, Tony Longo, Michael Paul Chan, Dustin Nguyen, Brigitta Stenberg, Basil Wallace, Al Leong, François Chau, Quentin O’Brien Running Time: 95 min. By Numskull A VHS copy of the last movie Brandon Lee completed can probably be found in the bargain bin of your local Blockbuster or Walmart (North America only), and though … Continue reading

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Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (2001) Review

Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey

Director: John Little Writer: John Little, Bruce Lee Cast: Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ji Han Jae, James Tien, Chieh Yuan, Taky Kimura, Linda Lee-Caldwell, Bey Logan Running Time: 100 min. By Joe909 If I had to make a top ten list of my favorite kung fu movies, the Game of Death footage Bruce Lee shot in 1972 would be in it. There’s just something cool about it. It … Continue reading

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Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) Review

"The Medallion" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Gordon Chan Cast: Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani, Lee Evans, Julian Sands, Alexander Bao, Anthony Wong, Christy Chung, Johann Myers, John Rhys-Davies, Scott Adkins, Paul Andreovski, Nicola Berwick, Anthony Carpio Running Time: 88 min. By Reefer Jackie Chan’s The Medallion is rare film. Rare, because its Jackie’s most CGI-enhanced film to date. Rare, because he actually has a make-out scene with his lovely co-star. And finally rare, because it suffers … Continue reading

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Kick-Ass (2010) Review

"Kick-Ass" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage Running Time: 117 min. By Mighty Peking Man Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a not-so-average comic book dork, has had enough of watching innocent people – including himself – be victimized by the scum of society; he orders a cool wetsuit-like costume from amazon.com, arms himself with a pair of batons and begins training (which mostly … Continue reading

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Kiss of the Dragon (2001) Review

"Kiss of the Dragon" American Theatrical Poster

Director: Chris Nahon Cast: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo, Laurence Ashley, Burt Kwouk, John Forgeham, Colin Prince, Max Ryan, Cyril Raffaelli, Didier Azoulay, Vincent Glo, Ric Young, Vincent Wong Running Time: 98 min. By Mairosu Liu Jian (Jet Li) is a top drawer Chinese cop, and also a master acupuncturist (yes, sounds silly, I know). He is summoned from China to help the local DEA bust a Chinese drug … Continue reading

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