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on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayI hope they would do Blood of the dragon 1971 .
on Arrow gains some street cred! ‘Street Gangs of Hong Kong’ Shaw Brothers set arrives on Blu-ray in NovemberIt's always great to see Chan Koon Tai, Wong Chung and Danny Lee in contempor…
on THE PERFECT WEAPON IS BACK! Martial arts star Jeff Speakman returns to action with ‘Lost Echoes’Great to be soon be seeing Jeff Speakman back in films,as the connection with…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-raymike leeder doesn't do commentaries anymore, so thats a win win! I do not min…
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…
Category Archives: Japanese
Violent Cop (1989) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shiro Sano, Shigeru Hiraizumi, Mikiko Otonashi, Hakuryu, Ittoku Kishibe, Ken Yoshizawa, Hiroyuki Katsube, Noboru Hamada, Yuuki Kawai, Ritsuko Amano, Taro Ishida, Katsuki Muramatsu Running Time: 103 min. By Len Flawed but promising would be the two adjectives I’d use to describe Takeshi Kitano’s directing debut. While watching this film, some characteristics that we have gotten used to … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
Killing Machine, The (1975) Review
Director: Norifumi Suzuki Cast: Sonny Chiba, Yutaka Nakajima, Makoto Sato, Naoya Makoto, Sanae Kitabayashi, Akiko Mori, Akira Oizumi, Hosei Komatsu, Kyoichi Sato, Genji Kawai Running Time: 85 min. By Slaxor The Killing Machine is a fun little Chiba flick. Probably one of my favorites of his and much much better then the overrated chore to sit through that is The Street Fighter. In the movie, Sonny Chiba very loosely portrays … Continue reading
Tetsuo: The Iron Man | aka The Ironman (1988) Review
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Producer: Shinya Tsukamoto Cast: Tomoro Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobu Kanaoka, Renji Ishibashi Running Time: 67 min. By HKFanatic Back in 1988, Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto unleashed “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” upon an unsuspecting world. The movie was a seething techno-fusion of flesh, sex, and machinery that aimed to shock and disturb. It has since become a cult classic and rightfully so: despite borrowing elements from … Continue reading
Versus (2000) Review
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Kenji Matsuda, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, Yuichiro Arai, Minoru Matsumoto, Ryosuke Watabe, Hoshimi Asai, Yukihito Tanikado Running Time: 120 min. By Numskull Hot damn! Evil Dead and Bad Taste meet in-your-face combat like only those bloodthirsty Asian film makers can do it, God bless ’em, with ample doses of anime and Matrix-style visuals thrown in to let the viewer know, without just coming out … Continue reading
Branded to Kill (1967) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Jo Shishido, Mari Annu, Mariko Ogawa, Koji Nambara, Isao Tamagawa, Hiroshi Minami Running Time: 91 min. By Milkcan I must say I am very glad to have seen this film. Did it make me a better person? No. Did it teach me things about the cinema I never knew? Well, no. But it did, along with “Super Ninjas”, remind me of how much mindless fun movies … Continue reading
Black Belt | aka Kuro-Obi (2007) Review
Director: Shunichi Nagasaki Cast: Akihito Yagi, Tatsuya Naka, Yuji Suzuki, Fuyuhiko Nishi, Kenji Anan, Takeshi Bito, Arashi Fukasawa, Rei Hanaoka, Atsushi Hida, Yu Kamio, Takayasu Komiya Running Time: 120 min. By Jeff Bona After their karate master passes away, two of his best students take opposite directions in life. Giryu (Akihito Yagi), chooses a more philosophical approach, practicing his master’s passive, yet effective, teachings on karate. Taikan (Tatsuya Naka), follows … Continue reading
Battle Royale 2: Requiem (2003) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Co-director: Kenta Fukasaku Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Shugo Oshinari, Ayana Sakai, Riki Takeuchi, Natsuki Kato, Ai Iwamura, Masaya Kikawada, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano, Sonny Chiba Running Time: 134 min. By Equinox21 When good ideas go bad. Ok, so I can understand the point of Battle Royale. I loved the first movie. It made sense (in a sadistic sort of way) to have hooligan kids killing each … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Aki Maeda, Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku, Riki Takeuchi, Tatsuya Fujiwara
Battlefield Baseball (2003) Review
AKA: Battlefield Stadium Director: Yudai Yamaguchi Producer: Ryuhei Kitamura Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki, Shôichirô Masumoto, Akiko Mishiro Running Time: 87 min. By Equinox21 Without knowing anything about the movie Battlefield Baseball, I decided to pick it up (a bootleg, unfortunately, as it’s the only format that’s affordable) only because it was a re-teaming of actor Tak Sakaguchi and producer Ryuhei Kitamura of Versus fame. I was expecting … Continue reading
Last Life in the Universe (2003) Review
Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Writer: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Prabda Yoon Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Yutaka Matsushige, Riki Takeuchi, Takashi Miike, Yoji Tanaka, Sakichi Sat Running Time: 112 min. By Alexander Comparisons between Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe and Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express are inevitable: both are photographed by Christopher Doyle; both are studies of quirky characters; both explore the relationships of disparate yet similarly lonely men … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews, Thai
Tagged Christopher Doyle, Riki Takeuchi, Takashi Miike
Sleepless Town | aka Fuyajo (1998) Review
Director: Lee Chi Ngai Cast: Kaneshiro Takeshi, Mirai Yamamoto, Lung Sihung, Eric Tsang, Kathy Chow, Seijun Suzuki Running Time: 122 min. By Alexander “Now it all makes sense,” says Kenichi, Takeshi Kaneshiro’s character near the end of the noir-ish thriller “Sleepless Town”. Well, not quite. This meandering, slick and very Wong Kar Wai-like film is so confusing, you’ll instantly ignore the deluge of plot twists amidst a huge cast of … Continue reading
Posted in Chinese, Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Eric Tsang, Kathy Chow Hoi Mei, Lee Chi Ngai, Mirai Yamamoto, Takeshi Kaneshiro
Away with Words | aka Kujaku (1999) Review
Director: Christopher Doyle Writer: Christopher Doyle, Tony Rayns Producer: Hiro Tokimori Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Kevin Sherlock, Mavis Xu, Georgina Hobson, Christa Hughes, Takanori Kubo Running Time: 86 min. By Mighty Peking Man A dispirited young man (Tadanobu Asano of “Ichi The Killer”) who has had it with the noisy stressful life in Japan heads to Hong Kong to find the peace he’s been lacking since his early childhood. Oddly, he … Continue reading
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato, Kaori Momoi, Yusuke Iseya, Renji Ishibashi, Quentin Tarantino, Yutaka Matsushige, Yoshino Kimura Running Time: 120 min. By Mighty Peking Man For years, a small town named Yuda has been dominated by two rival gangs: The Heike Reds and the Genji Whites (one group sports white, the other wears red). The two sides have pretty much taken refuge in Yuda, due … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Quentin Tarantino, Takashi Miike
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