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JJ Bona on Armie uncancells himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!There are, but many of them lack that all-out, anti-establishment, no-holds-b…
RAM on Shaw Brothers Classics Vol 8 | Blu-ray (Shout)Well, the answer is due to licencing, so your still where we were with region…
knoll on Armie uncancells himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!So because he became famous by being shit, we're now supposed to defend him b…
Matias Lorieri 羅意琛 on I Love Maria | 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Shout!)I wonder whether this version includes the scenes shown in the trailer but mi…
Ska Martes on Hail to the thief! Arrow Video announces 4K Ultra HD for John Woo’s Hong Kong heist actioner ‘Once a Thief’It doesn't have many fans on the west, but still John Woo's most popular movi…
Ska Martes on Hail to the thief! Arrow Video announces 4K Ultra HD for John Woo’s Hong Kong heist actioner ‘Once a Thief’Think I'll stick with Shout's release. The artwork here is so bad
Typo on Hail to the thief! Arrow Video announces 4K Ultra HD for John Woo’s Hong Kong heist actioner ‘Once a Thief’Not a good movie: badly scripted, poorly directed. Looking so cheap... Next!
Callum on The wait is nearly over! Jackie Chan’s 3D kung fu adventure ‘Magnificent Bodyguards’ arrives on Blu-ray this Julyalmost a year later let's pray we finally get it as promised lol
John on Mao bang for your buck! Eureka’s announces the ‘Reap The Whirlwind: Four Films with Angela Mao’ Blu-ray collectionDammit. Another great release. So many of them coming along at the same time…
Millan on The Kosugi ninja empire lives on! New Poster for Shane Kosugi’s ‘Seek’ starring Kansuke Asano and Kane KosugiGlad to see that both of Sho Kosugi's sons have been actively busy(film world…
John on 🦂 Feel that sting? Here’s the full details for 88 Films’ Blu-ray for the 1992 Golden Harvest classic ‘Operation Scorpio’Enter the Dragon could do with some new extras. Pretty sure we've had the sam…
Hipressure on Bruce Lee returns! Check out the thrilling New Trailer for the ‘Game of Death’-focused documentary ‘Broken Rhythm’That's exactly what I have, and it is awesome. I don't really know what else…
Danny on 🦂 Feel that sting? Here’s the full details for 88 Films’ Blu-ray for the 1992 Golden Harvest classic ‘Operation Scorpio’This is an old favorite of mine. Dare I hope 88films will release this in 4k…
Bey Logan on Hop right to it! New Bruce Lee doc, ‘Mr. Vampire’ reboot and more arriving from veteran Hong Kong producer Bey LoganYou’re no random stranger, Ska. You’re someone hiding behind a fake name who…
KayKay on Tarantino says NO, but Lionsgate says GO: Details for the 4K, Blu-ray and VHS editions for ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’I'd only disagree with you, Ska on the extended anime sequence. For years I'v…
vanti on Tarantino says NO, but Lionsgate says GO: Details for the 4K, Blu-ray and VHS editions for ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’Don't forget the influence of Swedish revenge flick Thriller: A Cruel Movie o…
Ska Martes on Hop right to it! New Bruce Lee doc, ‘Mr. Vampire’ reboot and more arriving from veteran Hong Kong producer Bey Loganwoke fuelled virtue signalling - lol funny how all the canceled peices of shi…
Bey Logan on Hop right to it! New Bruce Lee doc, ‘Mr. Vampire’ reboot and more arriving from veteran Hong Kong producer Bey LoganWith an imagination like that, 'Ska', YOU should be a scriptwriter... My crea…
Ska Martes on Tarantino says NO, but Lionsgate says GO: Details for the 4K, Blu-ray and VHS editions for ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’The VHS boxart looks pretty decent but hats going on with the coverart for th…
Ningen on I Love Maria | 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Shout!)Clip. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYz1PbZiWte/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link…
Tory on Ready to unleash some WANG!? Steve Wang’s cult classic ‘Guyver 2: Dark Hero’ arriving on Blu-ray later this yearI’m even more excited about this one than Roaring Fire. I know we’ll get a co…
Tory on Vengeance, Japanese style! Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba’s ‘Roaring Fire’ arriving on Blu-ray later this yearAlmost bought a shitty VHS copy of this a few years ago, I’ve been waiting so…
Ningen on He’s a real nowhere man! ‘Raid’ star Joe Taslim to team up with ‘Furious’ director for ‘The Man From Nowhere’ remakeNew clip. https://youtu.be/_udyg7ZTYYE?si=LuwCjHJz0Xyu-Q0w
Andrew Hernandez on Vengeance, Japanese style! Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba’s ‘Roaring Fire’ arriving on Blu-ray later this yearIt’s about time Hiroyuki Sanada’s earlier works got this treatment! He really…
Nicholas Schwab on Bren Foster is Marx’d for death! The martial arts powerhouse teams up with Mekhi Phifer for Louis Mandylor’s ‘Marx’And what mind blowing new action films are you watching?
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Category Archives: Korean
Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die, The (2022) Review
Director: Choi Jae-Hoon Cast: Jang Hyuk, Bruce Khan, Cha Tae-Hyun, Son Hyun-Joo, Lee Seo-young, Anne, Son Hyun-joo Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s no secret that in the 21st century mainstream Korean cinema has rarely sold itself on action. It’s certainly not for lack of talent, but rather you’re likely to find the countries best action sequences play out as part of a gangster movie, or a crime … Continue reading
Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews
Tagged Bruce Khan, Cha Tae-hyun, Choi Jae-Hoon, Jang Hyuk
Smugglers (2023) Review
Director: Ryoo Seung-Wan Cast: Kim Hye-Soo, Yum Jung-Ah, Zo In-Sung, Park Jeong-Min, Kim Jong-Soo, Go Min-Si, Kim Jae-Hwa, Park Jun-Myun, Park Kyung-Hye, Kwak Jin-Seok Running Time: 129 min. By Paul Bramhall Any discussion on modern Korean action cinema will invariably also be a discussion on director (and sometime actor) Ryoo Seung-wan. An avid Hong Kong action cinema fan when he was growing up, Seung-wan would debut in 2000 with Die … Continue reading
Officer Black Belt (2024) Review
Director: Kim Joo-hwan Cast: Kim Woo-bin, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Hyun-geol, Lee Joong-Ok, Kang Seung-Ho, Yoon Dae-Yul, Park Ji-Yeol, Jin Mi-Sa, Lee Jung-Gwi, Bang Byung-Hyun Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall The latest in Korea’s steady stream of post-Squid Game Netflix produced movies, Officer Black Belt hit the platform in 2024, offering a look into a rarely seen part of the law enforcement system – the parole officers who monitor … Continue reading
Land of Happiness, The (2024) Review
Director: Choo Chang-min Cast: Cho Jung-Seok, Lee Sun-Kyun, Yoo Jae-Myung, Woo Hyeon, Lee Won-Jong, Jeon Bae-Su, Song Young-Kyu, Choi Won-Young, Kang Mal-Geum Running Time: 124 min. By Paul Bramhall The 8 months spanning October 1979 to May 1980 are some of the most tumultuous in Korea’s recent history, marked by the assassination of president Park Chung-hee on the 26th October, and culminating in military dictator Chun Doo-hwan ordering the Gwangju … Continue reading
Man of Reason, A (2023) Review
Director: Jung Woo-sung Cast: Jung Woo-sung, Kim Nam-Gil, Kim Joon-Han, Park Sung-Woong, Park Yoo-Na, Lee Elijah, Ryu Jian, Kim Joo-Hun, Park Yong, Choi Soo-Im Running Time: 98 min. By Paul Bramhall One of the most enduring actors in Korean cinema, since making his debut in 1994’s The Fox With Nine Tails Jung Woo-sung has rarely been absent from the screen in the close to 30 years that followed, and in … Continue reading
Mission: Cross (2024) Review
Director: Lee Myung-Hoon Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Yum Jung-Ah, Jung Man-sik, Lee Ho-chul, Cha Rae-hyung, Jeon Hye-jin, Kim Chan-Hyung, Kim Joo-Hun, Jonathan Yiombi Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall 3 years after the unexpected global success of the Netflix series Squid Game, the streaming giant continues to plough money into Korean content, with the countries K-dramas coming to enjoy the same level of popularity globally as they have within Asia … Continue reading
Christmas Carol (2022) Review
Director: Kim Seong-soo Cast: Park Jinyoung, Kim Young-min, Heo Dong-won, Song Geon-hee, Kim Dong-Hwi Running Time: 130 min. By Paul Bramhall While the English title of writer and director Kim Seong-soo’s 3rd feature Christmas Carol may sound like another disposable entry in Netflix’s festive movie lineup, thankfully the reality is very different. Taking the classic tale of a revenge seeking protagonist who intentionally gets sent to prison to hunt down … Continue reading
New Normal (2022) Review
Director: Jung Bum-Sik Cast: Choi Ji-Woo, Lee Yu-Mi, Choi Min-Ho, Pyo Ji-Hoon, Jeong Dong-Won, Lee Moon-Sik Running Time: 112 min. By Paul Bramhall Filmmaker Jong Beom-sik is one of those few director screenwriters in Korea whose name is almost exclusively tied to the horror genre. After making his debut alongside his brother Jeong Sik with 2007’s Epitaph, Beom-sik would go on to helm segments in both 2012’s Horror Stories and … Continue reading
Phantom (2023) Review
Director: Lee Hae-Young Cast: Sol Kyung-Gu, Lee Ha-Nee, Park So-Dam, Park Hae-Soo, Seo Hyun-Woo, Kim Jong-Soo, Bibi, Esom, Lee Joo-Young, Kim Dong-Hee, Kim Joong-Hee Running Time: 133 min. By Paul Bramhall If someone asked if I could recall the name of that Korean movie which was set in 1933, and involves a group of independence fighters whose mission is to assassinate an official in the occupying Japanese government, chances are … Continue reading
Handsome Guys (2024) Review
Director: Nam Dong-hyub Cast: Lee Sung-min, Lee Hee-jun, Park Ji-hwan, Lee Kyu-hyung, Gong Seung-yeon, Woo Hyeon Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall The comedy genre has always been one which feels reluctant to be tackled head on in Korea, with even productions that bill themselves as comedies often making sharp U-turns into melodrama for their final reels. The likes of 2002’s Sex is Zero and 2017’s I Can Speak … Continue reading
Escape (2024) Review
Director: Lee Jong-pil Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Hong Xa-bin, Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Dong Hyeon, Esom, Lee Ho Jung Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall When the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953 the anti-communist film became a mainstay in the South Korean film industry, going through a golden era during the remainder of the decade, and one which continued well into the 1960’s (so much so that, in … Continue reading
Tastes of Horror (2023) Review
Director #1: Ahn Sang-hoon Director #2: Yoon Eun-kyung Director #3: Chae Yoo-joon Director #4: Kim Yong-gyun Director #5: Im Dae-woong Cast: Lee Zoo-young, Kim Joo-ryoung, Shin Eun-soo, Kim Tae-hoon, Park Jin-a, Choi Soo-im Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall The horror anthology is a production that’s been around for years, and in Asia there have been several takes on the format in the 21st century. The early 2000’s gave … Continue reading
Hopeless (2023) Review
Director: Kim Chang-hoon Cast: Hong Xa-bin, Kim Hyung-seo (Bibi), Song Joong-ki, Kim Jong-soo, Park Bo-Kyung Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall In Korean cinema it almost feels like a rite of passage for debut writer and directors to tackle the gritty social drama, usually focusing on those who live on the bottom rungs of Korean society, and with 2023’s Hopeless Kim Chang-hoon proves he’s not going to be one … Continue reading
Don’t Go Too Far (2021) Review
Director: Park Hyun-yong Cast: Son Jin-hwan, Son Byung-ho, Choi Jae-sup, Lee Sun-hee, Park Myung-shin, Lee Kyung-sung, Lee Do Yup, Ji Dae Han, Kang Tae Young Running Time: 77 min. By Paul Bramhall While it’s not uncommon for movies to be based off stage plays, what is uncommon is for the actual theatre setting itself to be integrated into a production intended for the screen rather than the stage. Part of … Continue reading
Thunderbird (2022) Review
Director: Lee Jae-Won Cast: Seo Hyun-Woo, Lee Myeong-Ro, Lee Seol, Kim Kyu-baek, Park Seung-tae, Choi Euna Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to being a fan of the “having a bad day” sub-genre, the kind which places a character (or characters) in an unenviable situation over the course of a short timeframe, and come with a narrative that’s usually built around the mantra of everything that can … Continue reading




























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