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on ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ star shines bright! Watch the Trailers for the ‘Wicked Priest’ collection arriving on Blu-ray in SeptemberMissing the spin off film, Whipmaster: Ballad of Murder? I could have sworn I…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upIn the mainland chinese cut, the villain who killed his wife in the lionsgate…
on Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka Fai return for Round 2! ‘The Shadow’s Edge II’ to begin filming in OctoberI liked the first movie until I hated it for being too overstuffed and that t…
on The Bodyguard (2024) ReviewGreat review, as ever, and really glad you're shining a light on these underr…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73He will be missed. It was awesome to watch almost any action film, and he’d a…
on WTF? Watch the blood-soaked U.S. Trailer for Joko Anwar’s Indonesian martial arts-horror-comedy ‘Ghost in the Cell’fun flick, tho.
on Heaven and Hell | aka Shaolin Hell Gate (1978) ReviewJust saw Heaven and Hell on youtube, and while it's pretty damn strange in so…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayAbout freakin time!
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73The Luke Cage guy paid tribute to him. https://www.instagram.com/p/DcbK2ZExau…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73James Lew was a very influential person in my life. I first discovered him wh…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWell almost 4 decades ago, there was this little movie about a cop who fights…
on Anybody seen Richie? Okay, wrong movie. But Steven Seagal’s ‘Above the Law’ is coming to 4K Ultra HD this NovemberNoice. Happy Arrow/Toy Robot are releasing Warner Bros action classics. I'm c…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWhat would even a part 2 be about, literally every bad guy in the first film…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayFrank Djeng talks too fast, and with his accent I find him very hard to liste…
on The Fall of Ako Castle | Blu-ray (Eureka)Is this blu-ray available to purchase anywhere in the U.S. in Region A, Regio…
on FURIOUS director Kenji Tanigaki returns to work on Soi Cheang Pou Soi’s ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ sequelRaymond Lam said that filming for the sequel has been officially completed (c…
on Second Life | aka Son of a Punch (2024) ReviewDefinitely a good idea! I'll leave the suggestion with our colleague Zack sin…
on The Bodyguard (2024) Reviewi enjoyed this film.
on Heaven and Hell | aka Shaolin Hell Gate (1978) Reviewi'm glad i'm not the only person that thought Chang Cheh (and possibly others…
Category Archives: Chinese
The Bodyguard (2024) Review
In 2024 director Qin Pengfei seemed to be channelling the work ethic of Chang Cheh at his most productive, cranking out an impressive 6 productions spanning everything from period kung-fu flick, to wuxia styled swordplay, to contemporary actioner. It’s hardly a surprise that in the following year he’d take a break, before returning in 2026 with Wings of Dread, offering up the enticing prospect of Ashton Chen versus Iko Uwais. … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Ashton Chen, Qin Pengfei
Second Life | aka Son of a Punch (2024) Review
What do you get when you combine an actress who was around when Bruce Lee was still active, and the actor who played Bruce Lee in 2016’s Birth of the Dragon? The answer is 2024’s Second Life, which offers up a rare starring role for Yuen Qiu, and arguably an equally rare starring role for HK action thespian Philip Ng, here reuniting for the first time since appearing together in … Continue reading
Curbing Violence (2024) Review
Was 2024 the year the Chinese web movie discovered irony? For a production titled Curbing Violence there are more bottles smashed over heads than is possible to count, bodies are frequently thrown into inanimate objects, and faces regularly subjected to a barrage of punches. Not that I’m complaining. With a scene stealing villainous turn in Black Storm from the same year, here Bao Beier (Journey to the West: Demon Chapter) … Continue reading
Black Storm (2024) Review
When China’s now ubiquitous web-movie scene first appeared in the mid-2010’s, it would be a hard sell to believe that such productions would eventually lead to a resurgence of the contemporary setting martial arts movie. Back then they mostly consisted of cheap looking wuxia movies and even cheaper monster flicks, however it was arguably 2021’s Fight Against Evil that made fans of HK style action sit up and take notice. … Continue reading
Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend (2026) Review
If the phrase beating a dead horse refers to still trying to milk a concept long after its expiry or relevance has diminished, then 2026’s Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend must be the web movie equivalent of nuking a dead horse. Ip Man was all the rage back in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, and amongst the craze for wing chun chain punches and rain-soaked fight scenes, a new … Continue reading
Wings of Dread (2026) Review
Back when I was first getting into HK action cinema I watched the 1986 classic Royal Warriors (and still own the Universe DVD to this day!), a highlight of which sees Michelle Yeoh and Hiroyuki Sanada take on Chan Wai-Man and a bunch of hijackers on a plane. A masterpiece of close quarters choreography, I’d always thought what a cool idea it would be to set a whole kung-fu movie … Continue reading
Operation Hadal (2025) Review
Director Dante Lam must possess one of the most varied filmographies in all of moviedom; just glancing at his body of work reveals the shifting commercial film trends in Hong Kong and China over the last 30 years. The great tragedy of his career might be that he wasn’t born a decade or so earlier, because you sense the man could have reliably turned out one epic pistol opera after … Continue reading
The Furious (2026) Review
It’s been a problem for at least a decade now that Hollywood doesn’t sincerely know how to market a stylish new action movie, particularly one out of Asia, without resorting to lazy comparisons like ‘It’s the next John Wick!’ or ‘It’s the next Raid!’ We’re seeing this same tactic play out now as Lionsgate tries to convince regular armchair Americans, the kind who don’t peruse websites like City on Fire … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Brian Le, Joe Taslim, Kenji Tanigaki, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Tse Miu (Xie Miao), Yang Enyou, Yanin Vismitananda, Yayan Ruhian
Battle Wizard (1977) Review
Director: Pao Hsueh Lieh Cast: Danny Lee Sau-Yin, Tien Ni, Lin Chen-Chi, Shih Chung-Tien, Chiang Tao, Keung Hon, Wai Wang, Si Wai, San Shu-Wa, Gam Lau, Teresa Ha Ping Running Time: 77 min. By Z Ravas In which the bad guy’s master plan is to feed the hero to a captive gorilla…because the hero has already drank the blood of the mythical snake creature known as the Red Python, granting … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews, Shaw Brothers
Tagged Danny Lee Sau Yin, Pao Hsueh Lieh, Tien Ni
The Touch (2002) Review
Director: Peter Pau Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Ben Chaplin, Richard Roxburgh, Dane Cook, Kenneth Tsang, Brandon Chang, Margaret Wang, Winston Chao, Zhenhai Kou Running Time: 103 min. By Paul Bramhall Imagine for a minute that the year is 2000 and you’re Michelle Yeoh. You’ve just gained an international level of fame thanks to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, garnering far more attention than when you were cast in a 007 movie, and … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Brandon Chang, Kenneth Tsang, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Pau, Winston Chao
Tiger on the Beat 2 (1990) Review
Director: Lau Kar Leung Cast: Danny Lee Sau Yin, Conan Lee Yuen-Ba, Ellen Chan, Roy Cheung, John Cheung, Chim Bing Hei, Norman Chu, Maria Cordero, Mark Houghton, Phillip Ko, Gordon Liu, Mai Te-Lo, James Wong, Xiong Xin Xin Running Time: 94 min. By Z Ravas Producer A: Hey, we’re doing a sequel to Tiger on the Beat, but Chow Yun-fat doesn’t want to come back. What should we do? Producer B: Just get … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Conan Lee, Danny Lee Sau Yin, Gordon Liu, John Cheung, Lau Kar-leung (Liu Chia Liang), Mark Houghton, Norman Chu, Philip Ko Fei, Roy Cheung
Dragon Tiger Gate (2006) Review
Director: Wilson Yip Cast: Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Dong Jie, Li Xiaoran, Yu Kang, Chen Kuan-tai, Yuen Wah, Wong Yuk-long, Sheren Tang, Xing Yu Running Time: 94 min. By Z Ravas I hadn’t seen Dragon Tiger Gate since it was new on DVD in 2007. It was released on disc in the States by Tai Seng, by the way, just in case you want a reminder of how … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Chen Kuan-tai, Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Wilson Yip, Xing Yu, Yuen Wah
Butcher’s Blade, The (2026) Review
Director: Liu Wenpu Cast: Liu Fengchao, Yuan Fufu, Chunyu Shanshan, Liu En Shang, Gao Wei Man, Liu Ben Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall Remember those old-school Korean kung-fu movies that got re-titled for international distribution with names like Shaolin Drunken Monkey and 7-Star Grand Mantis, only to leave viewers baffled when it turned out there was no discernible monkey (drunken or any other) or mantis styles on display? … Continue reading
Super Inframan, The (1975) Review
Director: Hua Shan Cast: Danny Lee, Wang Hsieh, Bruce Le (Huang Kin Long), Yuan Man-Tzu, Terry Lau Wai-Yue, Dana, Lin Wen-Wei, Chiang Yang, Lu Sheng, Fanny Leung Running Time: 88 min. By Z Ravas As someone who grew up collecting an inordinate amount of comic books, it’s seemed strange to me that I’ve spent the last several years completely disinterested in what’s happening in the superhero movie space; but a … Continue reading
Posted in All, Bruceploitation, Chinese, News, Reviews, Shaw Brothers
Tagged Bruce Le (Huang Kin Long), Dana Tsen (Danna), Danny Lee Sau Yin
Assassin (2025) Review
AKA: Assassination: 1932 Director: Zhou Jiu Qin Cast: Wang Ming, Jin Long, Cheng Qi, Jinhao Guo, Ray Lui, Di Wang, Tang Hao Yuan Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall One of the quirks I always enjoy in the world of Chinese streaming movies is the occasional oddly worded credit introduction, and 2025’s Assassin offers up a good one in the form of ‘Special Invited Lead Actor Ray Lui’, who … Continue reading
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